


Pretty Little Liars Season 3: Nos Animadverto Totus

by PepperWithAPencil



Category: Pretty Little Liars
Genre: All The Ships, Canon-Typical Violence, Drama, F/F, F/M, Gen, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Love Triangles, Multi, None of your favorite characters or ships are safe, Seriously there will be A LOT of ships, Underage Drinking, Vague tagging so you won't be spoiled
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-05
Updated: 2018-09-26
Packaged: 2019-06-22 09:59:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 34,137
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15579414
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PepperWithAPencil/pseuds/PepperWithAPencil
Summary: Set after Season 2 - in other words, an alternate version of Season 3. Aria, Spencer, Hanna, and Emily are relieved that Garrett will be going to prison soon. Unfortunately for them, there is more to the story of Alison's and Maya's murder than they think.On top of that, Aria's starting up a little project, and trying to deal with her parents dating other people (or rather, dating the WRONG people)! Spencer just became an aunt, but she is too busy playing detective with an unexpected partner... Hanna is secretly visiting Mona at Radley, but unbeknownst to her, Mona may not be the most dangerous person in that hospital. Last but not least, poor Emily is now grieving for both Alison and Maya. And we all know who thrives on people's weaknesses...





	1. A Grave Mistake

**Author's Note:**

> This story is an alternate version of Season 3 of Pretty Little Liars. I borrow plotlines, characters etc. from both the books and the TV series for this fanfic, but it's set in TV canon. Everything is a mix between that and my own ideas.
> 
> Things start out nearly identical to what we get in the show, but as it progresses, everything changes. I plan to try to make it just as wild as the show in terms of plot twists and drama, but with one major difference: my goal is not to be as shocking as possible, but rather to build a story so consistent that if you go back and read it all at the end, you can safely say that it all makes sense! Plot holes is the greatest enemy of writing.

**Five months later**

 

Aria glanced out the window. The sky had stopped crying, and had now moved on to the anger stage. Hearing the loud sound of thunder made her feel a little nostalgic. To think just two years ago, they had been having a sleepover in Spencer's barn, all four of them plus Alison. The thunder had clapped the second Alison entered the barn, as if she was the star in a horror movie. Aria closed her eyes, remembering Alison's voice. _Friends share secrets, it's what keeps us close_. The thunder clapped loudly again, making Aria flinch. Alison's grin flashed in front of her mind.

 _Well Ali, you weren't 100% wrong_ , Aria thought, as she turned to look at her friends. After all, if it weren't for A, they may not have found each other again. She took a sip of her drink. Emily poured some extra alcohol into hers, having brought her own little flask to fill the drink up with. Aria frowned, suddenly feeling a pang of guilt. Here they were, celebrating the great summer they had, delighted over the fact that Mona couldn't hurt them from the mental hospital and that Garrett was soon-to-be behind bars, all while Emily was still mourning Maya.

“Em, you and I are the _only_ ones who did anything worth talking about this summer,” Hanna said, leaning back in the couch. “I mean, Aria took some boring picture class and Spencer went to college.”

“I took a full load at Hollis,” Spencer perked up. “And Aria beat out 1000 applicants for a space in that photography class.”

Aria turned the straw around in her drink. Photography class had been fun, a good distraction from her home situation. Her parents had finalized their divorce just four months ago, citing irreconcilable differences as being the cause. Although, Aria knew very well that these “irreconcilable differences” were just a finer term for “disagreeing on whether to forbid our daughter from seeing her former teacher”. Her mother insisted that it had more to do with herself being unable to forgive that her husband had cheated on her with _his_ student, but Aria was certain her and Ezra had been the final nail in the coffin.

“So,” Hanna turned to Emily. “How many houses did you build?”

Emily shrugged. “I think we finished about 6.”

Hanna smiled. “And in poor countries, one house is like, a home for 50!” she exclaimed, clearly more excited about it than Emily was.

“Okay, Miss Productive,” Spencer said, smiling at Hanna. “How much of your list did you _actually_ do?”

“Let's see...” Hanna pulled out a notebook from her purse. “Cooking class with Caleb: done. Expand my vocabulary: _effectuating_. Volunteer at the animal shelter-”

She was interrupted by the sound of her phone buzzing, followed by the other girls' phones doing so as well. Aria felt as if someone punched her in the stomach. She pulled out her phone from her pocket, trying to keep her hands stable.

“ _Show me your boobs, -A_ ,” Spencer read aloud.

Aria rolled her eyes, but inside she sighed in relief. Even though they had gotten plenty of fake A texts this summer, she felt just as tense when her phone made a sound. She had turned off the sound on her phone for a while to try to relax, but the feeling of _not_ _knowing_ if some new A had showed up made her feel even more stressed, and so she switched it back on.

It had become a problem over the summer, because not only did Aria jump every time her phone buzzed, but also every time _someone else's_ phone did. One day, Ezra had been receiving more texts than usual, and he assured her that it was just one of his old friends being too talkative. But then he went into the shower, leaving his phone on the table, and the phone had not stopped making noise, leaving Aria with spiking anxiety. She had picked up the phone to try to unlock it so she could turn the sound off. Which wouldn't have been a problem, if not for the fact that Ezra suddenly stepped out of the bathroom and saw her holding his phone, and instantly jumped to the conclusion that she didn't trust him and was trying to read his text messages. The argument ended with Ezra changing his phone password and turning the sound off.

“Even Toby received a fake A text earlier,” Spencer told them.

“Was it one of those advertisement texts?” Hanna asked. “Because I am _so_ sick of those. 'We know your deepest secrets, including your favorite scent. Our _A_ -mazing new perfume is to _die_ for-'”

Aria's blood ran cold. “Hanna!” she interrupted. “Let's not talk about that right now...” She didn't dare to look Emily in the eye, but she knew Emily was glowering.

“I can handle it,” Emily snapped. “I'm not going to drive off a cliff just because you said the word _death_.” But directly after the words came out of her mouth, she poured more alcohol into her drink.

“Em...” Hanna reached out to pat Emily on the arm, but Emily moved an inch to avoid her hand. “We're here for you, okay?” Hanna chose to say instead.

Emily attempted a smile. “This is a party,” she replied. “We should treat it like a party, not a therapy session with Dr. Sullivan.”

“Friends share their feelings,” Spencer said. She gave all of them a look, and then smiled. “That's what keeps us close.”

The nostalgia hit Aria again, but this time, it came as a warm feeling in her chest instead of paranoia crawling on her back. “Well said Spencer.”

Hanna raised her glass. “To Ali.” Then, giving Emily a look of pity, she added “And...”

“To Maya,” Emily finished.

“To Ali and Maya,” they all said in unison.

“Drink up!” Spencer said.

 

* * *

 

Aria awoke at the sound of wind rustling.

She sat up slowly. Her head was pounding, which was odd, since hangover usually didn't strike her this hard. She tried to study her surroundings. The door was wide open, and she could hear rain hitting the ground outside. She heard the thunder clap again, although not as loudly as before. It was as if it had just passed over them, now heading elsewhere in Rosewood...

Aria turned around to ask the other girls who opened the door, but to her surprise, only Hanna was left in the couch. She had fallen asleep with half of a chocolate bar in her mouth.

“Hanna?”

Hanna groaned.

Aria walked up to Hanna and shook her by the shoulder. “Hanna, where is Emily and Spencer?”

Hanna blinked. “I don't know,” she mumbled. “God, I need an aspirin and a trough of water...”

The sound of someone stepping on the stairs alerted them. “Emily?” Aria asked.

Spencer descended from the stairs, pale as a ghost. “I've looked everywhere for her,” she said. “I don't know when she disappeared, I can't even remember how we fell asleep.”

Aria's blood ran cold. “Guys...” Her head began to conjure horror scenarios. Images flashed before her. Emily's apathy towards the homes for the homeless she had built over the summer. Emily pouring much more alcohol into her drink than usual. Emily's facial expression when the word death was mentioned. And Emily's voice... Aria was afraid to say the words out loud. “Do you think Emily... Hurt herself?”

Hanna jumped out of the couch. “We need to find her, now.”

“I'll call her,” Spencer said, reaching into the pocket for her phone. “Where is my phone?!” she said, searching through her pockets.

 

* * *

 

In another part of Rosewood, Emily stood still. The thunder roared around her, but Emily could barely hear it. Her vision was blurry. All she saw was darkness, emptiness... Emily tried to turn her head, but her body felt as if it was frozen in time. Her thoughts were wandering aimlessly. The Little Red Riding Hood story played before her eyes. She saw Maya in front of her, running around in a red-hooded coat, searching for her grandmother's home. Maya stopped by a building that looked suspiciously like a church. She grabbed Red Riding Hood by the shoulder, pleading with her. “Please don't go in there!” she beseeched. Didn't she know her grandmother was actually the wolf in disguise? Emily stared at the window, and saw the wolf glaring back at her. “Are you blind?!” she shouted at Maya. “Can't you see the wolf is right there?!”

To her surprise, Maya as Red Riding Hood _giggled_. Then she turned around, her golden locks falling over her face. But it wasn't Maya's dark, mysterious eyes. It was Alison's ice-cold, blue eyes, the same eyes Emily used to drown in years ago.

“Don't worry Em,” Alison said, patting Emily on the cheek. “This is not the first winter a wolf has lived through.”

“Ali, it's summer,” Emily said. She tried to look around, but her head was hurting too much. Where had Maya gone? Why was Alison there?

“Right, it's summer,” Alison said. Then she twirled around like a ballerina, and her red-hooded coat turned into a fur coat instead. “Goatskin's in.” She fleered.

“What do you mean?” Emily asked, bewildered.

“Maybe I died for your sins,” Alison replied with a wink.

 

* * *

 

“How can she not remember anything?” Hanna asked, picking up the shovel Emily had been holding.

“Because she's completely out of it,” Aria said, holding her umbrella over herself and Emily. “I don't think she even understands we're here.”

The only reason they had finally found Emily was because she answered her phone, crying about Alison disappearing. They had been confused at first, and then wondered if Emily had meant it literally, and went to Alison's grave, finding that it had been robbed.

“This was a set-up,” Spencer said, comparing the phone call history between her phone and Emily's. Rain was hitting both phone screen's hard, but Spencer seemed too focused on her task to register it. “Somebody called Emily from _my_ phone. Somebody broke into my house!”

Aria caressed Emily's arm, trying to console her. Emily had not stopped crying, nor had she said anything comprehensible apart from “Maya” and “Alison” for the past 10 minutes. “Is Maya's grave... Intact?” Aria asked.

“It seems to be,” Hanna said, pointing at Maya's grave. “If they robbed her grave too, they've covered it up.”

“We need to get out of here, _now_ ,” Spencer commanded. “Bury the shovel.”

Hanna didn't hesitate, and ran into the woods in her high heels. Aria picked up one of Emily's arms, and Spencer the other. “Em, you need to try to walk,” Aria said, hoping Emily could understand her.

Emily's legs wobbled. “Maya,” she mumbled.

“What kind of monster would do this to Emily?” Aria asked, feeling as if her heart was going to shatter.

“Only one person benefits from Alison's body being missing, and that's Garrett,” Spencer stated.

Emily let out a shrill cry at the mention of Garrett. Spencer hushed her. “It's okay Em,” Aria said, even though it was clearly a lie. “We're here, everything's going to be okay...”

Police sirens rang in the distance. Aria and Spencer took up the pace, semi-carrying Emily into the woods where Hanna had gone to bury the shovel. They met up with her just a couple of meters away from the graveyard. Hanna was covering the ground with mud by kicking it over with her heels. “Are the police heading here?” she asked in horror.

The sirens seemed to quiet down. “I think they are going elsewhere,” Spencer said. They all collectively let out a sigh of relief- save for Emily, who had fallen down on her knees in the mud.

“What are we going to do?” Aria whispered.

“I'll write a note for my mom,” Spencer said. “I'll say that we're going to my parents' lakehouse. Then we'll take my car to the lakehouse and sleep there.”

“As if I'm going to get _any_ sleep after this,” Hanna complained.

 

* * *

 

The next morning, Emily felt as if she was being interrogated by the police. Except in this case, unlike many other times it had occurred, she felt it was justified. And in this case, as soon as she showed even a tiny sign of distress, her friends dropped everything completely.

“I don't remember anything, not even the open grave,” she said, looking down at her feet. “I'm sorry.”

“It's not your fault, Em,” Aria said, moving some of Emily's hair out of her face, presumably in an attempt to get eye contact.

Emily refused to oblige, too ashamed to see Aria's understanding, empathetic eyes watching her. She didn't deserve her friends' sympathy. “It is my fault,” she insisted. “I got drunk and let myself get carried away-”

“Em.” Hanna, who had grabbed a hairbrush and a make-up bag, began to brush Emily's hair. Emily knew Hanna was attempting to cheer her up, but she wasn't sure why Hanna thought treating a jock girl like her as if she was a beauty guru would help. “You're having a rough time,” Hanna said. “We understand.”

Aria nodded. “If anything, we should be apologizing. We knew you weren't feeling well and let you drink all that-”

Emily sighed. “You are not my babysitters,” she protested. “I should take responsibility.”

The phone rang. Spencer, who had been standing on the other side of the room with her arms crossed, as if she didn't know whether to be angry at Emily or join in on the pity party, reached out and took the call.

“Hello?” she heard Spencer say. “Hi mom.” There was a pause. “Were there any witnesses?” Emily felt her chest tighten. “I understand. I'll see you later.” Spencer hung up the phone. The call had lasted for less than five minutes.

“No witnesses,” Spencer told them. “If anyone asks, we grilled marshmallows and talked about how fun senior year is going to be. Got it?”

“Yay, _fun_ ,” Hanna said sarcastically.

Emily opened her mouth to speak, but got interrupted by Hanna applying bright pink lipstick on her. Emily didn't want to lash out at her friends, but their behavior was getting more ridiculous by the second. It was difficult enough to deal with their rueful glances, but now she had to deal with being treated as if she was more delicate than porcelain. As if they thought she could crack at any second... Emily stared off into the distance, imagining a bizarre scenario of herself at Radley, becoming roommates with Mona, and having to deal with her vague comments, tittering, fake kindness, and outright threats.

 _I've lost everything_ , Emily thought to herself. _I've lost Alison. I've lost Maya. I'm not going to lose my mind too_.

 

* * *

 

“Aria?”

Aria sat straight up in the couch. Her mind was reeling. The open grave. The missing body. The horrified look on Emily's face. She looked around her bewildered, and then, as she saw the confused look on Ezra's face, realized that she was in his apartment. Aria took a deep breath, trying to register her environment, as Dr. Sullivan had taught her to. _Connect to the senses_ , she would tell her. Aria looked. She saw Ezra in front of her, and the worried look on his face. Aria listened. There was a song playing, something obscure from Ezra's odd music collection.

“ _I found the center of fruit is late,_

_It is the center of truth today,_

_Cut the apple in two,_

_Oh, I pray it isn't true..._ ”

“Are the nightmares back?” Ezra asked in a concerned voice.

“They never left,” Aria responded. Then she noticed that her legs were on top of Ezra's. Embarrassed, she moved them off him. She shifted uncomfortably in her seated position, suddenly feeling very self-conscious. Her dress felt rumpled. She pulled at the edge of it to try to straighten it out.

“Aria,” Ezra said, holding her hands in his. “Maybe you just need an outlet.”

“An outlet?” Aria echoed.

Ezra gestured towards his laptop. His desktop image- a magician with an infinity symbol over his head, looked at Aria knowingly. “Instead of just _talking_ about your feelings, you could _write_ about them. In fact...” A smile spread across his face. “You could write about _everything_ you experienced the past year.”

Aria broke eye contact with the desktop picture and looked back to Ezra. “Are you suggesting I write a self-biography?” she asked.

“Not necessarily,” Ezra said. “But you could start that way. Write about the A ordeal.”

Aria shrugged. “I don't know Ezra, it's all in the newspapers already.”

“The basics of the situation is,” Ezra pointed out. “But not the _depth_ of it. I'm sure people would want to know about what was going on in your head at the time, about what was going on in your friends' lives... _Your_ version of the story, not the press'.”

“I...” Aria paused, struggling to find the words. “I don't know if I could do that. There's so much baggage to unpack, and unpacking alone is hard enough. I can't even begin to imagine unpacking in front of the whole world...” But as her voice trailed off, she found her thoughts doing the same thing. _Could_ she?

“You could change the names subsequently,” Ezra suggested. “Call me 'Ernest' and say the book is fiction.”

Aria laughed. “I'll be more subtle than that,” she said. “ _If_ I do it,” she added, not wanting to commit to the idea until she had thought it through. But Ezra had a point. A creative outlet might be just what she needed. Perhaps she could even incorporate photography somehow. Excited at the prospect, she smiled and planted a kiss on Ezra's forehead. “Thank you for the idea,” she said. “I'll think about it.”

 

* * *

 

Hanna's legs felt like Jell-O as she tottered through Radley. She wished she had chosen a pair of heels that weren't higher than Mount Everest for the occasion. Back when she and Mona were friends, before the A mess, they would sometimes have a silly competition of who could wear the most stylish shoes for the day. Hanna would show up in brand new shoes, Mona would show up in brand new shoes, and whoever was caught gawking at the other's shoes first had to pay for dinner.

Usually that payment didn't happen though, since they preferred to sneak out of the diner before the check arrived.

“Mona, you have a visitor,” the nurse said.

Hanna glanced into Mona's room. Mona had not spotted her yet. She was looking at the nurse excitedly. Her hair had not been washed in what looked like days, and her skin looked dry. “Who's visiting?” Mona asked. “Is it Alison?”

The unsettling smile on her face made Hanna cringe. It was not the first time Mona had asked if Alison was visiting. Initially Hanna had corrected her, reminding her that Alison was killed two years ago, but after two months passed with no change, it became apparent that Mona was not going to stop asking.

“Oh, Hanna!” Mona said, her smile not wavering. “It's good to see you again!”

Hanna sighed. “It's good to see you too, Mona,” she lied. How could it _ever_ be good to see Mona again? _You hit me with a car_ , a part of Hanna wanted to scream at Mona. “Are the meds still giving you a dry mouth?” she asked. It was a perfunctory question at this point. Mona enjoyed complaining about the hospital and her medication.

“They changed my medication,” Mona said. “At least that's what they say. Who knows if they _actually_ did. I don't trust the staff here at all.”

“Well,” Hanna was about to say _maybe they don't trust you either_ , but chose not to. “I hope the medicine helps you in other ways,” she decided to say.

“Oh, it does,” Mona said slyly. Hanna felt a cold shiver down her spine. For a second, Mona's smile faltered, turning into a strange grimace. Then, as if it had never happened, her mouth formed a bright, teeth-showing smile again. “So tell me,” she said. “What's going on with Alison?”

 

 

Hanna left the meeting early, feeling creeped out by her conversation with Mona. Mona had made the question sound so innocuous, but there was no doubt in Hanna's mind that her ex-best friend slash archenemy was very well aware of Alison's grave being dug up. There was a television at the hospital after all, and she was sure she'd seen a newspaper or two in the pile of celebrity gossip magazines in the “playroom” she'd walked past.

There was a giggle in the distance.

Hanna stopped and turned around. It had sounded just like...

Hanna shook her head wildly. _I'm not Mona_ , she reminded herself. _Alison is dead. Her grave was dug up. What am I even thinking?_ She stormed towards the exit doors, suddenly feeling irrationally afraid of going crazy if she were to stay. But just as she was about to reach the receptionist's office, she almost bumped right into someone.

“Sorry,” she mumbled, but then she looked up at the person's face. “ _Wren_?”

“Hanna?” Wren blinked.

Hanna felt a rush of panic as she saw the nurse from earlier glance at her through the glass. “Uh, no,” she said. “You must have me confused with someone else!”

Wren looked down at the visitor's pass on her chest. “Oh, Ms Rivers, I'm sorry, your resemblance to an old friend is _uncanny_.”

Hanna grabbed him by the arm and pulled him to the side. “Please,” she said, trying to contain her voice into a whisper. “Don't tell anybody that you saw me here.”

“Sure, but,” Wren crossed his arms. “ _Why_ are you here?”

“I could ask you the same thing,” Hanna said.

“I volunteer a few days a month,” Wren explained. “I volunteer at other kinds of hospitals too.” Then he paused, as if he felt he had said too much.

“What's wrong?” Hanna asked.

“It's your turn to tell me why you're here,” Wren said.

Hanna bit her lip. How could she even answer that question when she _herself_ wasn't sure why she was there?

“I'm visiting Mona,” Hanna confessed. “I... I need to understand. I want to understand.”

Wren gave her a sympathetic look. “I'm afraid there's not a lot of logic in mental illness.”

“Maybe not,” Hanna concurred. “But the Mona I knew... If she held grudges, it was always for a reason. It could be a silly reason, such as someone being more-than fashionably late to a party, or buying the same clothes as her in an attempt to embarrass her, but there was always a _reason_.”

Wren shook his head. “I went through the same stage of denial with my father after he lost the plot,” he said.

“Your father was mentally ill?” Hanna asked, a bit more loud than she had intended to. Wren looked around them, as if he was afraid they had been overheard. “Sorry!” Hanna added. “I shouldn't have-”

“It's not a problem,” Wren reassured her. “It's just not a subject I would like to discuss here,” he added with a whisper.

“I get it,” Hanna said, putting her hands in her jacket pockets. “Well, I should get going-” She started.

“Wait,” Wren said, and grabbed her arm. Hanna stopped in her tracks. He had not grabbed her hard, but she felt odd about how they had gone from acquaintances to touching so fast. “How long have you been visiting Mona?” Wren asked.

Hanna swallowed. “Since a week after she got here,” she admitted.

Wren nodded towards the receptionist. “The nurses have expressed that they think Mona has been improving,” he said. “And they've been theorizing that it was due to a certain visitor. Perhaps it was you.”

“Doubt it,” Hanna said. “Both the improvement part and it being due to me. Mona won't stop talking about Alison.”

“The whole town does,” Wren said.

Hanna rolled her eyes. “Yes, but it's in terms of ' _I wonder why Garrett killed her_ ' not ' _I wonder if she's coming to visit today_ '.”

Wren shrugged. “Like it or not, the doctors here see it as progress.”

“Really?” Hanna said incredulously.

Wren nodded, and leaned closer to her to whisper. “I can't tell you everything I know, because of patient-doctor confidentiality. But trust me: if Mona talks, it's a good thing. We'd rather have her chatty and nonsensical than saying bugger all and sit in her room planning-”

“She is planning her next A-move?” Hanna whispered.

“No, no,” Wren said. “But we are afraid she might go back to doing so if left to her own devices.”

Hanna paused. “So you're saying Mona became A because of... Loneliness?”

There was silence between them. “I've said too much,” Wren said, and let go of her arm. Hanna felt her heart racing.

 

* * *

 

Emily ran her hands through her hair before setting the ponytail in place. She couldn't find her hairbrush, and at this point couldn't be bothered to even try to look for it. Nothing seemed to matter to her anymore since Maya...

She interrupted the thought. She had spent the entire summer crying, building houses for the poor, and then crying some more when she was alone. _Time heals all wounds_ , her mother had said earlier this morning. Evidently, five months was not enough time. And now, on top of that, someone was attempting to frame her for Alison's...

Emily dug her nails into her cheeks. Garrett had taken them from her. Both of them. Her first love. Her second love. She wanted to scream. Why had he targeted the people _she_ loved? Why were Toby, Caleb, and Ezra unharmed? _Don't think that way_ , she told herself. Perhaps Garrett was just targeting whoever lived in the DiLaurentis house. Or just targeting young girls in Rosewood overall. It probably had very little to do with her.

She moved her hands away from her cheeks and stared at the marks from her nails. It almost looked like freckles. She paused for a second to stare at her mirror image.

Suddenly, she felt as if the mirror was shrinking. Emily blinked. An image was puzzling itself together in her mind. She was looking into a car mirror, staring into her own eyes. Her eye whites were red, as if she had a lot to drink. She could hear some indistinct chatter around her, and the smell of a cloying perfume...

And just like that, it was gone again, and all Emily could see in front of her was her bedroom mirror, displaying her in her gym clothes, ponytail, and wide-open, horror-stricken eyes.

 

* * *

 

Spencer had lost count of how much coffee she'd had, and it wasn't even afternoon yet. Melissa seemed to have noticed too, as she gave Spencer an odd look.

“What?” Spencer said.

“You should try green tea instead,” Melissa suggested as she put little baby Taylor in the crib. “It's healthier.”

Melissa had given birth a couple of weeks ago, and had been acting weirdly maternal ever since, always offering to help Spencer and giving her lifestyle tips, as if being a mother of one meant she was a mother to all. Taylor made a noise, and Melissa cooed in response.

“I'm glad something good came out of this mess,” Spencer said, nodding towards Taylor.

Melissa smiled. “She is beautiful, isn't she?”

“Looks nothing like Ian, hopefully acts nothing like Ian,” Spencer mumbled.

Melissa shot her a glare. “Nurture, not nature,” she said in a scolding tone.

Spencer realized the comment was tactless. “Sorry, I'm just stressed about school,” she lied as she began to sip on her coffee.

Melissa shook her head. “You are _such_ a Hastings,” she said. “Stressing about school before it has even begun.” She sighed. “I remember when my worst problem was that my grades might not be straight A's. How life has changed.”

When Spencer didn't answer, Melissa's face suddenly changed to apologetic. “I'm so sorry Spence.”

“Huh?” Spencer threw in another sugar cube into her coffee.

Melissa looked down at her feet.

“Melissa, seriously, you can say the letter ' _A_ ' in front of me,” Spencer said. Images flashed before her eyes of That Night, and how she had almost tripped when trying to carry Emily to the car. “Mona is at Radley, Garrett will be behind bars soon, and I'm sure they'll find whoever he hired to rob-”

“And then what?” Melissa put a blanket over Taylor. “Will Rosewood be safe? Can parents go to sleep at night and know their children will still be-” She paused in the middle of the sentence, taking a deep breath as if she was trying to prevent herself from breaking down in tears.

Spencer put her coffee cup on the counter and walked up to Melissa, standing still awkwardly, trying to determine if giving her sister a hug would be appropriate or not. “No one is going to hurt Taylor,” she assured her.

“ _And how do you know that_?” Melissa asked, her voice shaking as if she was trying not to yell.

Spencer chose not to answer. “Do you need some tissues?” she asked.

“No, no, it's okay,” Melissa said, still fighting the tears. “I just don't know what to think about Garrett.”

Spencer narrowed her eyes. “What do you mean ' _not know what to think_ '? He killed Ali and Maya.”

Melissa pursed her lips. “What if he didn't?” she said. “It wouldn't be the first time Rosewood brought an innocent person to trial.”

“That's arbitrary,” Spencer replied. “The cops haven't detained him all summer just for fun Melissa. There is substantial evidence against him.”

Melissa let Taylor grab her pinky finger. “All I know is that Garrett was the only man who was always honest with me,” she said, and turned to look at Spencer. “Can you say that about any of the men you've been with?”

 _Of course_ , Spencer wanted to say, and wave her phone's background image in front of Melissa, to show her the picture Emily had taken of Spencer and Toby together in the park. They had been a couple for so long that she was starting to feel as if they were married. But just as she picked up her phone, it started buzzing.

Spencer frowned. It was a group call from her friends. She pressed answer. “Hello?” she said, leaving the kitchen so Melissa wouldn't hear the conversation.

“I remembered something from that night!” Emily blurted out. “It's not much, but...”

Spencer bolted out of the kitchen so Melissa wouldn't hear the conversation, pressing the phone tightly to her ear. “What did you remember?” she asked.

“I remember looking into a car mirror, and...” Emily paused. “A very strong perfume smell.”

“That's _it_?” Hanna's unimpressed voice replied. Then her tone suddenly changed. “What kind of perfume?”

“I don't know, I-” Emily stopped herself mid-sentence and took a deep breath.

“Em, it's okay, we can give you time,” Aria said.

“No!” Emily almost seemed annoyed by the suggestion. “It's just...”

“What?” Spencer exited the house. “Did the smell remind you of something? Or someone?”

“It reminded me of Alison,” Emily confessed.

There was a pause. “Well, Ali's body was the one who got dug up, maybe that's why,” Hanna said.

Spencer felt as if Hanna had just claimed the Earth was flat. “Hanna, Alison has been dead for _years_ , she is not going to smell the same today as she did back then.”

“Guys,” Aria said. “That's not what's important. Now we know that Garrett hired a _girl_ to kidnap Emily and dig up Ali's body.”

“But who would do that?” Emily questioned. “Who is close enough with Garrett to want to do that?”

“Spencer's sister,” Hanna suggested.

Spencer thought about Melissa and little baby Taylor in the kitchen. “Unless Emily starts remembering a baby crying in that car, I highly doubt it was Melissa,” Spencer said. “Besides, Melissa doesn't smell like Alison.”

“Maybe I'm mistaken,” Emily said in a low voice. “I had a weird dream about Ali that night, maybe I got confused...”

“It's okay Em,” Aria said. “We just need to find something to jog your memory.”

“Well, I'm going for a literal jog right now, let's hope that helps,” Emily said. The wind rustled on her side of the phone.

“Alone?” Spencer asked anxiously. She wasn't sure if it was safe to leave Emily all by herself, especially after last night's events. What if she got kidnapped again?

“I don't need a babysitter Spencer!” Emily snapped, and hung up her side of the call before she had the chance to respond.

There was silence. Spencer felt a little unnerved. “She's grieving,” Aria said. “Don't take it personal.”

“I don't,” Spencer said. “But I'm worried about her.”

“I acquiesce,” Hanna chimed in.

“Hanna, that's not how you use that word.”

Spencer knew Hanna was rolling her eyes on the other side of the line. “I'm going,” Hanna said. “I'm already late for my date with Caleb.” She hung up.

Spencer ran her hand through her hair. She was tempted to do a spontaneous visit to Toby's house, but the risk of Jenna being there turned her off. Jenna had adopted a grossly polite personality since her eye surgery failed. “Do you have time to hang out?” Spencer asked the only person still in the call.

“I can't,” Aria said. “I'm...”

“Going to Ezra's,” Spencer finished. Part of her wanted to laugh. She was still not sure how to feel about Aria's student/teacher romance. It was inappropriate, at the very least, but the joy on Aria's face always made it so difficult for her to stay critical. Her main concern had been that Aria seemed to abandon her hobbies in order to spend more time with Ezra... But then Aria had taken that picture class during summer, and that made her feel a bit more at ease.

“Actually,” Aria said. “I'm going to do some writing.”

“For an assignment?” Spencer asked.

“A teacher told me to write something,” Aria said, her voice sounding as if she was grinning.

Spencer felt as if she was missing some sort of inside joke. “So, an assignment,” she said.

“I'll call you later,” Aria promised, and ended the call.

 

* * *

 

Aria was running- or rather, happily skipping, to her mother's new apartment. She had only been living there for two months, but for both her and Aria it felt like home. Partially because her computer was there... But also because Ella had managed to make it cozy and artsy, just the way Aria liked it. The rule they had agreed on was that on weekdays she would be with her father, and on weekends she would be with her mother. Mike did whatever felt good for him on that particular week. While his medication had been helping a lot, he still needed support from both his parents. Aria pressed the code needed to open up the apartment complex's door and went inside. She skipped towards the elevator and pressed the button.

Suddenly, the elevator doors opened up, and Aria saw someone she had not expected to see. She couldn't help letting out a gasp.

“Hi Aria.”

Aria breathed. “Hi Jason,” she said, avoiding contact with his eyes. She and Jason had gotten a little too close before summer, which had caused her conflicting feelings about Ezra, and that was not something she needed now. She paused, feeling curious. “What are you doing here?”

“I was visiting your mother,” Jason said, stepping out of the elevator. She could feel his scent. Vanilla, just like Alison... She shook her head to get the thoughts away.

“My _mother_?” Aria echoed.

“She showed me some of the photographs you took for that photography class,” Jason continued. “I found them really impressive.”

“You did?” Aria couldn't resist smiling.

Jason nodded. “If a bit creepy,” he added.

Aria swallowed. The photographer had given them certain themes to photograph... And Aria had found herself connecting almost every single one of those themes to A- _Mona_ , or Alison. Ezra was right, she realized. The past was haunting her much more than she gave it credit for.

“Are you going into the elevator or...?” Jason asked.

Aria blushed, realizing she had completely forgotten the reason she was there in the first place. But just as she took the step into the elevator, she realized something. “Wait,” she said, turning to look at Jason. “I didn't know you and my mother were friends,” she added. She recalled Ella inviting Jason to the party they held at home... Which had been interrupted by the police arresting Mike for breaking and entering. But she was surprised they had kept in contact.

“We stayed in touch during summer,” Jason said. “I'm surprised she didn't tell you.”

He turned around and started walking towards the exit. Aria raised an eyebrow. Why would her mother have a secret friendship with Jason DiLaurentis, and make home visits...? She eyed Jason a little, and then noticed an odd, red mark on his neck.

Aria smacked her hand onto her mouth to stop herself from screaming.

 _No_ , she told herself. _No, it's not... It's not that. Or... If it is, some other girl gave it to him._

Yet as she pressed the button to take her up to her mother's apartment, she had a horrible feeling that it was just what she thought.

A hickey.

Her phone buzzed. A rush of panic hit Aria. The elevator door shut. _Deep breaths_ , she reminded herself, but her heart was racing. She picked up her phone. _It must be Spencer. Or Hanna. Or Emily. It's not-_

Aria couldn't breathe.

It was a video of her, Spencer, and Hanna, as they stood by Alison's open grave. Emily was on the ground, with an odd look on her face. Aria pressed play. There was no sound, but the video's content spoke loud and clear as they went off to bury the shovel. As they left into the woods, the video changed, showing a white image with red text:

 

 

> _I wonder who Jason thinks is the better kisser: mother or daughter. Should I ask him before or after I tell him you grave-robbed his resting sister?_
> 
> -A

 

* * *

 

Emily was halfway through her jogging round when her phone rang.

She clenched her fist, prepared to tell her friends that no, she did _not_ need babysitting and could be outside by herself without breaking down in tears about Maya, but then she saw the caller.

Toby.

Surprised, Emily clicked the “Answer” option. “Toby?” she said hesitantly.

“Hi Emily,” Toby greeted her. Emily was incredulous. Had Spencer put him up to this? Sure, Emily and Toby were friends before he and Spencer became a couple, but they had not talked for the entire summer. Emily knew he had spent most of the summer with Spencer, whenever she wasn't studying, and she didn't want to interrupt them when they were together... Her heart ached with jealousy as she thought of how she and Maya had not gotten to spend the summer together.

“Did you want something?” Emily asked.

“Spencer has field hockey practice this afternoon,” Toby said. “So I was wondering if you wanted to grab a cup of coffee?”

Emily was uncertain. On one hand, she was not in the mood to discuss her grief or be pitied. On the other hand... If Toby wanted to hang out as usual, it would be a nice distraction.

“Okay,” Emily said reluctantly.

 

 

Caffè Americano was not the ideal post-workout drink, but Emily found herself unable to care. Alcohol and water had been the only two beverages she drank during the summer, and she missed her favorite coffee flavor.

Toby was doing his best to avoid the M-word. “How are things going?” he asked.

Emily bit the inside of her cheek. “Great,” she said. “How about you? How was summer?”

“Eventful,” Toby said, staring off into the distance. “Jenna's surgery failed, so she has been needing a lot of attention.” His voice turned sour. Emily remembered the video she had seen of Jenna and Toby. She shuddered.

“Attention?” she asked, unsure if she even wanted the answer.

“It's not a problem,” Toby quickly added. “Her boyfriend takes care of her most of the time.”

“She's got another?” Emily asked, trying to feign interest.

Toby tilted his head slightly. “I could answer that, but I get the feeling you want to talk about something else.”

Spencer had definitely put him up to this. Emily tensed. “I'm fine,” she insisted. “I just... Partied a lot this summer.”

Toby looked genuinely surprised. “I didn't take you for a party person,” he said.

“I'm not,” Emily admitted. “But people change.” She thought back to her dream That Night, and how she had seen Alison twirl and change right in front of her, from red coat to fur coat. It felt as if someone punched her in the stomach. “I let my friends down,” she said. “I got drunk and...” She thought carefully about how to phrase herself. “I did some things I shouldn't have done,” she chose to say.

“Alcohol changes people,” Toby said. “I'm sure they know you didn't do it- whatever it is – Drunk Emily did it.”

“It doesn't matter really, does it?” she asked, taking a big sip of coffee.

Toby shook his head. “Your friends will forgive you,” he said.

 _Would Alison forgive me?_ Emily almost asked aloud, but stopped herself once she realized how it would sound. She thought about Maya. What would she have thought if she were here right now? She wouldn't have blamed her... Maya herself knew what it was like to be completely wasted. Alcohol, drugs, Maya had adventured through every forbidden fruit available. “I miss her,” Emily said, her voice so low it was barely a whisper.

“Could you repeat that?” Toby asked.

Emily blinked, trying to fight tears. “I just missed her,” Emily said. “Moving on hasn't been easy for me.”

Her phone buzzed. Emily sighed, expecting it to be her mother worrying about her again.

But the messenger was not Pam Fields. Nor was the message filled with concern for her. Emily paled.

 

 

> _Which ex-lover's body are you stealing next?_
> 
> _-A_

 

* * *

 

Hanna leaned to the left to get a better look. But she saw correctly: it was Emily and Toby! She was surprised- although delighted, to see them hanging out again. She almost fell off her chair as she waved at them. Toby waved back awkwardly, and Emily was too busy staring at her phone to acknowledge her existence.

“How was your appointment with Dr. Sullivan?”

Hanna flinched, having been so lost in thought that she had almost forgotten Caleb was there. “It was okay,” she said with a shrug, taking a sip of her skinny vanilla latte. It had more carbs than she usually accepted from a drink these days, but she couldn't skip her favorite coffee.

“'It was okay'?” Caleb echoed.

Hanna rolled her eyes. “It was _adequate_ ,” she said, hoping her impressive vocabulary would be enough to distract him from asking more questions.

“What did you talk about?” Caleb asked, reaching out his hands to hold hers.

“Alison,” Hanna replied. It was technically not a lie. Alison had come up. A lot. Just not in a conversation with Dr. Sullivan.

Caleb caressed her hands. “I'm glad you started seeing her regularly,” he said. “I can't imagine what you're going through, with Garrett's trial, Alison's body being dug up, Maya being murdered, and Mona-”

“Let's not talk about this,” Hanna said, moving her hands away from Caleb's. “Are we still on for tonight?”

Caleb smiled. “You know I love cooking with you.”

Hanna was pretty sure he was more into the part where they made out while the soybean pasta was boiling, but she wasn't complaining. Cooking class did have its benefits though. Now she could cook all those low carb recipes she found online that she hadn't dared to try her hand at before. LCHF appeared to be working well for her. Her mother was critical of the diet, but Caleb seemed to be okay with it. Probably because he used it as an excuse to cook bacon for them. “Can we cook something other than bacon this time?” Hanna asked.

Caleb pondered it for a moment. “Cheese tacos?” he suggested.

Hanna laughed. They had eaten that last week, and Caleb had tried to convince her to let him put bacon on it too. “Promise you won't try to put bacon on it this time?” she asked.

“Can't promise anything,” Caleb grinned.

Hanna heard her phone ring. She pulled it out of her pocket and clicked to answer without checking who the caller was. “Spencer, I just saw Emily having coffee with Toby, she is fine.”

“That's great news. Want me to forward that to her?”

Hanna gulped. The voice on the other line was decidedly _not_ Spencer. She gave Caleb an apologetic look and mouthed a “Be right back” before going outside to take the call.

“Wren, how did you even get my number?” she asked.

“You're on Mona's emergency contact list,” Wren replied. “Didn't you know?”

Hanna blinked. “Isn't that where people usually put their parents?”

“Sounds like Mona thinks the two of you are closer,” Wren concluded.

Pre-the _A_ -situation, perhaps Hanna would be in agreement. Now, not so much. “What's up?” she asked, trying to sound relaxed.

“Mona has made incredible progress,” Wren said. “She took her medication without complaints today, and even went to the playroom to talk to some of the other patients here.”

“That's incredible progress?” Hanna snorted.

“For someone who used to run around in a black hoodie spying on people, yes,” Wren said. “We think your visits are helping. Mona said she really enjoyed talking to you today.”

“Golly,” Hanna said sarcastically, trying to match Wren's accent.

“Hanna.” Wren's tone of voice became serious. “I think your meetings are helping her. I really do. Her doctor agrees.”

Hanna pursed her lips, thinking back to the odd look on Mona's face as she had asked her about Alison. Wren's refusal to explain why exactly this was progress still bugged her. And yet... Hanna remembered the Mona who had stood by her side, lost weight with her, gone to the gym with her, helped her rise to popularity in school. They had been the queen bees- not needing to be invited to any party, because their presence was assumed already.

They were so far away from that now. Sean had left Rosewood High and gone to boarding school, and Hanna had started dating Caleb instead. Mona had turned out to be A. Hanna was an outcast after what Kate had done- although, her popularity had already begun to fade once she and Mona started falling apart. It didn't matter that everyone knew Kate was a liar now, the damage had already been done.

Even if she would find it within herself to ever forgive Mona for her horrific actions... Would there even be a place in her life for the little shopaholic klepto with an eye for detail and intelligence far above that of anyone else in the school?

“I'll think about it,” Hanna said. Before she could add anything else, there was a loud, clinging noise in her ear. The text signal. “Someone's texting me, I need to go.”

“No problem,” Wren said. “Call me if there is anything you need to talk about. I always have a listening ear.”

“Goodbye,” Hanna said, pressing the button to hang up. She was greeted back by a text from an unknown number. The message had an image of a large, black bag attached. Hanna felt queasy.

 

 

> _Cut out all the carbs you want, but you're never cutting me out. We are BONEfide best friends._
> 
> _-A_

“Did you get a text too?”

Hanna turned around, and saw Emily standing behind her with a horrified look on her face. “Em...” She began, trying to figure out how to console her.

“Someone knows!” Emily said, her eyes filling with tears. “Someone knows about That Night!”

Hanna put her arm over Emily's shoulders. “Hey, let's go somewhere less public...”

Emily pushed Hanna's arm off her. “Why? Everyone are going to find out anyway!” And then she stormed off.

“Em, wait!” Hanna yelled, but her friend had already ran too far away. Hanna sighed.

 

* * *

 

The A lair had been emptied when the cops arrived to gather evidence from it. It had been bothering Spencer for months. And so, she had been inspired to set up her own little lair... In the barn. The perfect hiding spot- Melissa's new apartment was in Philadelphia, and while she did come over a lot to visit her and their parents, she no longer had keys to the barn. Only Spencer did.

And Spencer had refurnished it appropriately.

Every newspaper article she had ever found about Alison had been taped up on onto the walls of the former bedroom, together with pictures of Alison. She had ripped pages out of the Rosewood Yearbook from when the N.A.T. Club attended, just in case that would be needed as well. The Black Swan was still bothering her, and so she had printed out concepts of that costume too. And, in order to function properly, Spencer had invested in more than one laptop, plus several USB-sticks, to make extra copies of _everything_.

It didn't matter that Garrett was caught and Mona was in a straightjacket. Spencer didn't feel safe, somehow. And after That Night, she was sure it was justified.

She walked up to her whiteboard and grabbed a blue pen, writing down: _Garrett Reynolds. Alison DiLaurentis. Maya St. Germain. N.A.T. Club. Black Swan. Alison's remains_. She paused, staring at the work she had done so far. What was the _connection_?

Before Spencer could ponder it deeper, her phone rang. Aria. She picked up, but before she even got to greetings, Aria was talking faster than a rapper:

“Spencer, A is back and they are texting me about my mom and Jason hooking up!”

Spencer blinked. “Whoah, slow down,” she said.

Aria sighed on the other end of the line. “Spencer, I got an A text. They have a video of That Night!”

“Are you sure?”

“ _Yes_ , Spencer, it was definitely us, definitely Alison's open grave, and definitely that shovel!” Aria almost yelled at her, clearly panicked.

Spencer put the whiteboard pen down. “Did the text say anything else?”

“Yes, it said that A wonders if I'm a better kisser than my mom!”

“ _What_?”

“It's hardly relevant,” Aria said. “The point is, A is _back_ , Spencer! And they want us to look like grave-robbers this time.”

“I'll call you later,” Spencer said. “For now just... Try to calm down. Bye.”

Spencer hung up before Aria could reply, and went back to the wall of newspapers and pictures. Her intuition had been correct. Someone was after them again.

The question was, _who_?

 

* * *

 

Emily took her car to the cliff, stopping just by the edge of it.

She rolled down the window and stared downwards. Mona had survived the fall. But if she rolled her car back a little, and then went at full speed... Who knew what could happen?

She held both hands at the steering wheel. Her thoughts went to Maya, and her contagious smile. And then to Alison, and her arrogant smirk. Tears began to run down her eyes. Two people she loved and would never see again. Garrett might be on his way to spending a lifetime in prison, but what would that do? It would never bring Maya back. It would never bring Alison back.

“No one is going to get hurt again once Garrett is locked up,” her friends had reassured her. Yet someone had. Emily herself. Someone had taken her to Alison's grave, stolen her body, and was now doing their best to frame Emily for it.

Anyone could be this new A.

And Emily wasn't sure if she felt strong enough to stick around and find out.

She took a deep breath.

And then she heard her phone buzz.

Emily bit her lip. Did she want to bother checking who it was? One final message before disappearing forever? She hesitated, but then, decided to pick the phone up. She owe her friends one final message, if nothing else.

But it wasn't her friends messaging her.

 

 

> _Oh, Emily, did I hurt your feelings? I'll make it up to you with some hot new info: one of your ex-lovers faked her death._
> 
> _-A_

Emily froze behind the steering wheel. It was a trick. It had to be. She had gone to Alison's funeral, and Maya's too. Sure, none of them had been an open-casket one, because both bodies had been too... Emily chose not to think about the words. But the cops did identity checks. There was no way, no way this was true. This was A trying to rope her into the game again. Emily ending it would prevent that from happening.

But just as Emily grabbed the gear stick, she realized it didn't make sense. Wasn't A's goal to ruin her life? Wouldn't Emily ending her life be the ultimate victory for A?

She hesitated. Did A know she was here? Was A trying to prevent her from doing it, or trying to push her over the edge, literally?

And more importantly, true or not, _why_ would A give her this information?

Emily's grip on the gear stick tightened. Part of her felt even more tempted to just drive off the cliff and make sure she didn't let the A game begin anew. And yet... Images of Maya flashed before her eyes, and some of Alison, too. The dream she had that night came back to her. Alison's cryptic words and playful wink. _This is not the first winter a wolf has lived through. Goatskin's in. Maybe I died for your sins_.

Another car stopped next to her. Emily looked up, and, to her surprise, saw Hanna exit the car.

“Emily!” Hanna yelled. “What are you doing here?”

Emily's tears were rushing like waterfalls now, and before she could wipe them and gather her strength, Hanna had seen it.

“Oh, Em...” Hanna opened the door to Emily's car. Emily sniffed. Hanna wrapped her arms around Emily and hugged her tightly. “We beat Mona, and we'll beat this A too,” Hanna reassured her.

“That won't bring them back,” Emily whispered through the tears. _Or would it?_ The optimistic thought didn't want to leave her mind, now that A had planted it there. “A said...”

“A said what?” Hanna asked. Emily said nothing, simply handing her phone to Hanna. Her eyes widened. “Emily, this is crazy, there is no way...”

“Isn't there?” Emily questioned, feeling her heart breaking inside her chest. Somehow it felt as if she was losing them both all over again.

Hanna paused. Her mind seemed to go through the same things Emily's had, albeit a bit slower. “Let's go find Spencer and Aria, _now_.”

 


	2. Déjà Vu All Over Again

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter turned out way too long, even after I tried my best to delete text I deemed irrelevant. Therefore, I split the chapter in two. So if it feels incomplete to you... That's because it was intended to be half of one chapter.  
> There's a lot of plot going on though, so perhaps letting it all "sink in" is a good thing!  
> This chapter's title is a nod to the PLL books. I prefer the show and always will, but there's some nice plotlines in there...

“Alison is dead,” Aria said firmly as the girls rounded up in Spencer's bedroom. “We all went to her funeral. This is simply A trying to mess with us.”

Emily looked away. “I know,” she said, but her voice was wavering.

Hanna was less convinced. “Why does A want us to think Alison or Maya is alive?”

“To hurt us? To get attention? To give us a reason to dig up graves?” Spencer pondered.

“That's the worst motive ever,” Hanna complained.

“A isn't writing a true crime novel,” Spencer argued. “You remember what Dr. Sullivan said. Mona's motives didn't make much sense either.”

“That's not the same thing,” Hanna said. “Mona was lonely.”

“ _Lonely_?”

Hanna paused, realizing she had said too much. “I just assumed that was why,” she said, suddenly very occupied with looking at her nails. “I ditched her a lot after all...”

“She had Naomi and Riley!” Spencer countered.

“Well, she didn't just lose the plot out of nowhere!” Hanna said.

Spencer fleered. “'Lose the plot'? Are _you_ writing a true crime novel?”

“ _Guys_!” Aria snapped. “No one here is writing a true crime novel!” Then she paused. “Well, I might be,” she confessed.

“ _What_?” her three friends said in unison.

“More of a self-biography disguised as fiction but... That's not the point!” Aria digressed. “We could speculate all day about why Mona had a vendetta against us, but that doesn't answer why _this_ A does.”

Emily cleared her throat. “Are all the A texts related to what happened 'That Night' or has something else come up?”

Aria opened her mouth, prepared to share the bizarre story of her mother and Jason, when she was interrupted by the sound of someone walking up the stairs.

“I thought your parents weren't home,” Emily whispered.

“So did I,” Spencer replied.

Veronica Hastings entered the bedroom with a concerned look on her face. “I just got a call from the police station,” she said. “They want all of you to go there for questioning.”

 

* * *

 

“We were at Spencer's lakehouse.”

“Spencer's parents' lakehouse, yes.”

The four of them had already prepared what to say if questioned, but that didn't make the surprise call to the police station any less distressing.

Luckily Wilden had not been the one questioning them this time, but he had not passed up the opportunity to give them an intimidating look as they walked past him after the hearing.

 

* * *

 

“Spencer!” a voice yelled.

Spencer turned around and saw Toby. She ran up to him and practically jumped into his arms. Toby held her tightly. “Are you okay?” he whispered.

“I'm fine,” Spencer said. Flustered, she remembered that Toby didn't know that they weren't really at the lakehouse all night. “I mean,” she added, breaking apart from their embrace. “We were at the lakehouse all night, so they have nothing to hold against us.”

Toby nodded solemnly, his eyes seemingly elsewhere. Spencer followed his look and noticed that he was staring at Ella Montgomery, and... Jason? Suddenly, it hit Spencer. A had asked Aria if she or her mother was the better kisser. Ella and Jason were _involved,_ and A was having a laugh at it.

“I'm not... _judging_ , but isn't Ella at least 10 years older than Jason?” Spencer asked Toby.

Toby shrugged. “They are both adults, they can do what they want.” _Unlike Aria and Ezra_ , Spencer couldn't help thinking.

Aria, meanwhile, walked up to her mother and Jason. Initially, Aria tried not to think much of it, until she noticed that their hands were locked together. She tensed. They were official enough to _hold hands?_

“It was just routine questioning,” Aria overheard her mother assure Jason.

“Don't worry Ella,” Jason said. “I know Aria would never do that to my sister.”

Aria hoped her mother had not noticed her face turn beet red. “Hi!” she said hurriedly.

Ella raised an eyebrow. “Did everything go okay in there?”

“Yes,” Aria said. “I'm just really hungry, and-” She paused to glance at Jason. “I'm surprised to see Ali's brother here,” she added.

Ella laughed. “You can call him _Jason_ , Aria.” She turned to Jason and smiled. Aria felt queasy. “Jason and I were planning to go out for dinner,” Ella continued. “I was thinking perhaps you could join us, Aria?”

Aria paled. She looked at Jason. He seemed happy and comfortable, as if there was nothing wrong with her mother's invitation. “Dinner,” Aria repeated.

“I figured it would be nice if you and Jason got to know each other a bit,” Ella said. “You've met him back when you were friends with Alison, of course, and at our dinner party, but...” She made a grimace instead of finishing the sentence. There was no good way to say _then Mike got arrested for breaking and entering, so we didn't really get an opportunity to talk_.

“We know each other,” Aria guaranteed her. She could imagine Spencer's reaction to that. _Yeah, your tongues met sometime before summer_. She looked back and saw Spencer staring at them, and not subtly so either. Spencer raised an eyebrow when Aria's glance caught hers, almost as if to say _you can't catch a break, can you?_ Aria sighed. “Fine, let's all go to dinner,” she said.

 

* * *

 

Emily had lost track of time, as she sat on the bench rocking back and forth, waiting for her mother to pick her up. She had forgotten why her mother couldn't stay after the hearing to begin with. And at this point, she couldn't bring herself to care either. Emily reached out to touch the scarf wrapped around her neck. The one Maya gave to her. She didn't even remember putting it on. She held onto the scarf tightly and pressed it against her chest, as if it would keep Maya closer to her heart.

She knew her mother had picked her up. She knew they were in the car. She knew her mother was talking. She could hear it. But she seemed to forget what had been said two seconds later.

Up until she heard the words: “I booked an appointment with a doctor.”

“What?” Emily winced.

Pam sighed. “Emily, have you even heard a word I've said?”

“There's nothing wrong with my hearing,” Emily argued. “Cancel the appointment, my ears don't need to be checked, you'll just be wasting the doctor's time.”

“Emily, the appointment is not to check your ears,” Pam said. “It's to see your... Mental well-being.”

Emily felt as if her mother had slapped her in the face. “What, are you saying I'm crazy now? Because I didn't pay attention for a few seconds?” The fears she had conjured earlier about sharing a room with Mona at Radley suddenly didn't seem so far-fetched anymore.

“Of course not Emily,” Pam said. “There's nothing wrong with you. I've just noticed that you seem...”

“What happened to 'time heals all wounds'?” Emily questioned.

“There's no need to get so defensive,” her mother replied. “Grief is human, Emily. There is no shame in getting help to cope with it.”

“Great,” Emily said sarcastically, letting her hand fall from the scarf onto her leg with a loud _smack_. “What's next? Am I getting pulled out of the swim team? Out of school?”

Pam's tone suddenly changed. “Emily.” She sounded serious. Not angry, but austere. “We are going to the doctor, and then you can decide how you feel about the treatment he or she suggests.”

Emily looked out of the car window, her attention wandering again. Looking outside in this area was giving her deja vu feelings. The strong smell of perfume filled her nostrils again. Emily closed her eyes and tried to focus.

_Can I drive?_ A woman's voice seemed to say.

_You don't have a license,_ a man replied.

Before Emily could remember more, the car stopped, and her mother stepped out. Emily, feeling exhausted, almost fell out of the car as she tried to get out. “Emily, I'm stopping to get us some coffee,” her mother said. “You don't have to go with me into the store.”

“Oh, I thought we were home,” Emily said, having forgotten to pay attention to her surroundings.

Her mother shook her head. “You _really_ need this appointment Emily.” She took a step, but then turned back to Emily. “Oh, and tell Nat 'thank you'.”

“Nat?”

“Natascha? Natalie?” her mother guessed. “It's one of the girls on the swim team, right?”

Emily blinked. “I don't remember a Nat on the team...”

“Well, when you remember who it is, tell her I'm very glad she sent me that letter,” her mother decreed. Then she went into the coffee shop, leaving a confused Emily in the car.

 

* * *

 

“Hanna, are you seriously _painting your nails_ right now?” her mother said.

Hanna sent her a glare. She was happy about her new Dior nail polish in the _Mirage_ color, that she had purchased with her own money instead of shoplifted as she used to. “Would you prefer if I rocked back and forth in place like poor Em?”

Ashley turned the keys to start up the car. “Fair point,” she replied.

“Do we have to drive immediately?” Hanna asked. “It's _really_ hard to paint in a moving car.”

“Why, do you want Wilden to have an opportunity to knock on the window?”

Hanna tensed. “Fair point,” she said, mirroring her mother's earlier response.

Ashley smiled.

“What?”

“I'm glad you're more my daughter than Tom's,” she replied.

The mention of her father felt like a punch in the gut. Hanna's relation to her father had been strained, to say the least, after she told Isabel about him cheating. She thought things might turn around after she revealed how Kate had tried to frame her, proving that she was the trustworthy daughter after all, but instead, he had used this as an excuse to spend _more_ time with Kate. His reasoning had been that poor, _poor_ Kate clearly was _lonely_ and _insecure_ and thus needed to know he loved her just as much as his biological daughter. “Has he asked about me at all?”

“He has,” Ashley assured Hanna. “He wanted you to talk to Kate before she comes back to school, but I said no.”

Hanna's eyes widened. “ _What_?” she shrieked. “Kate is _coming back to school_?”

Ashley didn't look happy either. “If it's of any consolation, your father says that therapy has worked really well for Kate.”

“Yeah, _right_ ,” Hanna replied, accidentally painting the area outside of her nail. “Could you drive a bit less obstreperously?”

Her mother gaped at her as if she had said something wildly offensive. “ _Obstreperously_?”

“What? I learned a lot of words this summer! I thought you'd be proud of me for learning new things instead of carousing like everyone else.”

Ashley laughed. “Very well,” she said. “But to my understanding, Kate wasn't _carousing_ this summer either. Tom seems to have taken the matter seriously. So don't worry about her, okay?”

Hanna shrugged. “Okay,” she mumbled. “Just please tell me I don't have any classes with her.”

“Not to my knowledge,” her mother said. “Tom said she was behind due to being pulled out of school before the year ended. If it turns out she is in any of your classes though... I'm sure Principal Hackett will understand if I ask to have you moved to another class.”

Hanna would have preferred if Kate moved before her, but she could already predict her father's reaction. How his poor stepdaughter might feel rejected if she was forced to move out of a class because of Hanna.

“So,” her mother said, clearly wanting to change the subject. “What is up with Ella Montgomery and Jason DiLaurentis?”

Hanna put her palms in the air and grimaced as if to say _I have no clue,_ when her phone buzzed. She picked it up, praying it wasn't another A-text.

It was Caleb. She sighed.

 

> _I thought we were cooking tonight? Where are you?_

_Police questioning,_ Hanna wrote back. _Can we reschedule? I'm exhausted._ He responded quickly.

 

> _Of course we can, but is everything okay?_

_Routine questioning,_ Hanna reassured him. _I'll see you tomorrow. Love you._

 

> _Love you too princess._

Hanna smiled so widely that her face almost hurt. She felt lucky to have such a loving boyfriend... And felt so horrible when she thought about how poor Emily would never see her girlfriend again. She couldn't imagine how she would feel if she had lost Caleb.

 

* * *

 

After the horrifically awkward dinner- mostly consisting of Aria trying to avoid eye contact with Jason, leading to her instead looking at his elbow or his arms (which did not help at all), and her mother trying to make conversation about the photography class Aria had taken last summer, sitting down and focusing only on writing the book was comforting.

The plot wouldn't be a problem, since the storyline was simply a recount of her life. Names, however... Aria paused. Ezra had suggested making simple name changes, but she wanted to be more subtle than that. Perhaps look for name meanings. There was no need to change the names of herself and the girls, some of the names, such as Ezra's... Perhaps also Toby and Jenna's, if she were to bring up the N.A.T. videos. How would she even talk about the Jenna Thing?

Or, Aria realized, she could write the book and claim it was loosely based on her own experiences. That way, she could tell the truth without stating that it was the truth... She sighed. This might become more complicated than she had anticipated.

Aria's thought process was interrupted by giggles. She paused and listened. She heard the noise of whispers, more giggles, and finally, lips touching and breaking apart... Aria sighed irritably and put earphones in, searching through her music library for something that would inspire her. Finally, she picked one Ezra had uploaded for the two of them. She turned up the volume as loud as she could so she wouldn't need to hear whatever Jason and her mother were doing.

Suddenly, _1 new message_ popped up at the lower right side of the screen. Aria opened it.

The email the message was sent from was a random jumble of letters and numbers. Attached to it was a picture of Aria and Jason kissing. It had been taken from afar. Aria's blood ran cold.

 

> _If you keep ogling Jason, I'll show your mother what her daughter has done with her new beau._
> 
> _-A_

Aria closed her laptop and carried it with her. When she opened the door, she saw her mother standing in the hallway with Jason. Jason had his hand on the small of her back, holding her tightly, and Ella had her arms on his shoulders, gazing into his eyes. They both turned around and stared at Aria when they heard the door _slam_ into the wall.

Her mother was startled. “Aria, be careful with the door,” she said, looking disturbed.

“I'm going to my dad's,” Aria replied.

“Why?” her mother seemed genuinely surprised. Aria looked at Jason. He had a worried look on his face, as if he had not realized the ramifications of dating the mother to a girl he had a crush on until now. Or perhaps he was afraid Aria would tell.

“I just miss him,” Aria lied. “Besides,” she added, gesturing towards her and Jason. “The two of you need some time alone.”

None of them protested. Aria opened the door. “Goodbye,” she said as politely as she could.

“Bye,” her mother and Jason said in unison. Aria shuddered as she shut the door behind her. For a brief second, she considered sleeping over at Ezra's, but she decided against it. If her mother called her father to check if Aria had gotten home and realized where she really was, it could get ugly.

 

* * *

 

The next morning was one of the worst school starts one could imagine.

Spencer could deal with the students whispering and huddling together while staring at her and her friends- she didn't care. Hanna put up the middle finger at a group of girls who were pointing at them and giggling. She recognized two of them as Mona's former friends, Naomi and Riley. _Way to pretend you weren't tricked too_ , she wanted to say. Aria was visibly uncomfortable, and lightly caressed both her friends' hands, as if she wanted them to hold her hand and assure her it was going to be okay.

Emily was not even present.

“Have you texted Emily?” Hanna asked worriedly. She hadn't told them about finding Emily in her car by the cliff since she had promised not to, but she was starting to doubt her decision more and more.

Aria nodded. “She didn't answer any of my texts.”

“Do you think she's okay?”

“I think Emily was pretty clear about not wanting us to take pity on her,” Spencer said. “So let's not.”

Hanna looked down at her feet. “Yeah, well, I think she might need it.”

“Care to elaborate?” Spencer inquired. Hanna's eyes didn't leave the ground as she pondered how to answer the question evasively enough. But before she could do so, her eyes spotted a pair of dark brown Frye boots. They had a certain shine to them, as if they had recently been cleaned.

“Hi Hanna,” Kate's chirpy voice said.

Hanna looked her stepsister in the eyes. She had a seemingly sweet demeanor, as per usual, but Hanna didn't want to take the risk of being tricked again. “Hi Kate,” she said, simpering, and then tried to walk right past her, but Kate grabbed her arm.

“I like your dress,” Kate said in a saccharine voice, rubbing the sleeve of her dress. “Such a nice fabric... And it has pockets?!” She reached down into one of the pockets.

Hanna, who had run out of patience from last time she dealt with Kate, recoiled. “I like your boots,” Hanna replied, prepared to push Kate away if she made another attempt. “Now leave, so I can watch how they look when you walk in them.”

“Let's go,” Aria whispered into Hanna's ear. Spencer shot one last glare at Kate before they left her standing alone in the corridor.

“What _was_ that?” Spencer questioned. “She well-nigh assaulted you!”

“Well- _neigh_ ,” Hanna sounded, trying to act less disturbed than she was. “Where were those pictures of her at riding camp again?”

Spencer raised an eyebrow. “What, you think you could still use those as leverage?”

“Hanna,” Aria said. “Kate already made the whole school think you were a bully once.”

Spencer nodded in agreement. “Don't provide her with more ammunition, airsoft pellets or otherwise.”

“Whatever,” Hanna said. “We have History first period, right?”

“You guys can go ahead,” Aria said. “I have something I need to take care of.”

“What is 'something'?” Spencer questioned. When Aria gave her a look, she continued with: “Guys, seriously, we can't start keeping secrets from each other again.”

Aria gave her an amused smile. “Spencer, really, I just have to talk to Mike, I'll catch up with you two later.”

 

* * *

 

Aria spotted Mike by the entrance to another classroom, talking to Noel Kahn. She immediately got worried. _They were friends again?_ She glanced at Noel. He did look uncharacteristically docile. Mike was another story. His brow was furrowed and he seemed genuinely considering of whatever Noel was talking about.

Aria marched up to the two.

“Mike,” she said. “Can I talk to you alone, please?”

Mike tilted his head slightly. “Can't we talk after school?”

“No, we can't,” Aria claimed.

Mike shrugged, and waved quickly at Noel before stepping a bit further away with Aria.

“Why are you talking to Noel Kahn?” Aria questioned.

Mike sighed. “Aria, your reputation at school has taken a hit. I'm trying to mend it.”

“Are you?” Aria asked skeptically.

“Yes,” Mike said. “I'm genuinely trying to help you, Aria. Noel's a popular guy. If I can get him to keep his mouth shut about you and your former English teacher, and remember that he used to _like_ you, that could give you and the others an easier time.”

“Noel hangs out with _Jenna_ ,” Aria argued. “And you have no idea what Jenna is capable of!”

“Actually, Jenna broke up with him,” Mike informed her. “He seemed pretty upset about it.”

Aria frowned. “She did?”

“Yes, completely out of the blue too,” Mike said. “No one saw it coming.” Then, he suddenly grinned. “I bet not even Jenna did,” he added, proceeding to burst out laughing at his own joke.

Aria rolled her eyes. “Just promise me you'll be careful with who you're talking to,” she pleaded.

“Yes mom,” Mike said sarcastically. “It could be worse, I could be banging the new teacher.” Aria slapped him on the arm, half-playfully, half-out of actually being offended. “No, really,” Mike said. “That would be pretty messed up, don't you think?”

“Why, is she an old lady?” Aria asked.

Mike's eyes widened. “You don't know?”

“Don't know what?”

The bell rang. “I need to get to class,” Mike said, walking off without another word.

Aria walked hastily towards the classroom. She was not used to being late for class- the few times she had been, Ezra had usually not bothered to write it down. Being late on the first day with a new teacher was not ideal. She opened the door as carefully as she could to avoid making a scene.

“Sorry I'm-”

Before Aria could finish her sentence, her eyes fell on the woman in front of her.

“Good morning, Miss Montgomery,” the teacher said formally, as if they had never met before. But it was unquestionably her.

_Meredith._

 

* * *

 

“I'm your new substitute teacher,” Meredith explained.

_What is she going to teach us? Homewrecking?_ Aria texted to her friends' group conversation, not bothering to hide her phone.

Spencer sent an eyeroll emoji in response, but Hanna joined Aria in the outrage, having looked up some new words in the dictionary specifically for the occasion. _What was her name again? Meretricious Strumpetson?_

_I'm not defending her,_ Spencer wrote back. _But it takes two to tango, so if you forgave your father, you can forgive her too._

Aria knew, deep inside, that Spencer was right. But it felt so much _easier_ to hate Meredith than to hate her father, and she suspected Hanna went through the same struggle with her own father and his new wife Isabel.

_We're not Alison_ , Spencer added.

Aria took a deep breath. Spencer didn't know, of course. No one except Aria and Alison knew. But shortly after Halloween, when Aria's wounds were still fresh from finding out about the affair, she and Alison had broken into Byron's office.

For unknown reasons, Alison seemed _much_ more worked up than Aria.

_Guys_ , Aria texted to them. _I have to tell you something._

 

* * *

 

“Ali, he said he was going to end the affair...” Aria had said helplessly as Alison stormed into Byron's office.

“Once a cheater, _always_ a cheater,” Alison had replied, giving each object in the room an incredulous look. “Do you think they did it on that couch? Or on his desk?” She made a disgusted face.

“I don't-” Aria started. Alison grabbed her arm and moved her hand towards her mouth. She used one hand to put Aria's pointing finger over her own mouth.

“ _Shh_ ,” Alison said. “We're doing this for your mom sweetie,” she assured her. “If he has truly ended the affair, and we find no proof of it, then we can let him off the hook...” She stared off into the distance. “For now.”

There was something strangely comforting for Aria in that moment, to hear Alison refer to them as a _we_. Almost as if to say they were in it together, that Aria really wasn't all alone in her suffering. Alison's knowing smile seemed to say that she understood, even if Aria couldn't imagine Kenneth DiLaurentis ever even touching a woman who wasn't his wife.

In hindsight, it was obvious that Alison was projecting anger from finding out about her own mother cheating with Spencer's father. But Aria didn't know it back then, and instead, just trusted that Alison had some sort of wisdom she hadn't acquired yet.

And it all came crashing down after Alison found an earring in the couch.

Alison had egged Aria on. “We have to make him see who she _really_ is!” Alison had said, pouring an unfinished cup of coffee over papers on Byron's desk. “Show him what it looks like when Mere _death_ is having a meltdown.” They had torn apart every piece of paper they had found in the office, flipped furniture upside down, ripped pages out of books, written _bitch_ on Ella's face in a photo of her Byron kept on his desk, and written inflammatory language on the walls using one of Alison's lipsticks.

Aria had not questioned why Alison was carrying around a lipstick she didn't use, or where she got the idea of writing with a lipstick in the first place.

Aria didn't know the ramifications of what they had done, but it didn't seem as if her father ever had contact with Meredith again, until he came back from Iceland. They had seemed friendly with one another back then. Perhaps he had forgiven her with the years.

 

* * *

 

_Wow_ , Hanna wrote back. _Your dad never found out the truth?_

Spencer had stopped replying, probably to actually focus on the class they were having.

_I don't know_ , Aria replied. _However-_

Before Aria could finish her reply, her phone was snatched from her.

“Miss Montgomery,” Meredith said calmly. “No phones in class, please.”

“I'll put it away,” Aria promised, but Meredith wouldn't have it.

“You can take it back from my desk after the lesson,” Meredith replied. For a second, Aria could have sworn Meredith's eyes traveled to her phone screen, and seeing the incriminating message. But then Meredith's eyes went back to Aria as if nothing had happened. “I just want to make sure you are focusing on the class,” Meredith added, giving Aria a knowing look.

Aria swallowed.

 

* * *

 

Once Aria had her phone back, not bothering to exchange words with Meredith, they huddled into the cafeteria, choosing a table in the corner rather than the one they were usually at.

Luckily, the staring and pointing wasn't as much at them this time, as it was at Jenna, who seemed helpless, walking into people and barely even trying to use her walking stick to check her surroundings.

“Is it just me or is she blinder than she was last year?” Aria asked, sounding as if she couldn't decide whether to be suspicious or sympathetic.

Spencer clenched her fist. She knew Aria still carried guilt from the Jenna Thing. Hanna seemed to think she and Jenna were even after she saved her life. Spencer, on the other hand, after finding out Jenna had blackmailed Toby into having sex with her, had very little empathy for her. For a second, she almost missed Alison, as she imagined Ali sitting next to her, smirking at Jenna's failures and cracking jokes about her blindness. She felt a pang of guilt for attacking someone because of their disability, even though it was just in her thoughts. Even though it was Jenna. She looked down at her food. Gluten-free pasta and chicken. Melissa had convinced her mother that wheat contributed to depression. It could be correct, but Spencer didn't care. She eyed Hanna's low-carb tuna rolls and Aria's chickpea chili.

“Do you guys eat wheat?” she asked.

“Not anymore,” Hanna replied. “Most wheat flour products have _tons_ of carbs.”

“Sometimes,” Aria said. “How come?”

Spencer nodded towards her pasta. “Well, I'm trading wheat for corn thanks to Melissa,” she said. “Looks like becoming a mother turned her into a dietary expert.” Hanna narrowed her eyes as she chewed on one of her tuna rolls. “What?” Spencer asked.

“A's text mentioned my diet,” Hanna explained. “Are you _sure_ Melissa can't be A?” Spencer rolled her eyes. “Seriously Spencer, she has a motive, she was close to Garrett, _and_ she has a sudden interest in alternative diets!”

“Melissa is too busy changing diapers to dig up graves,” Spencer said. Then her eyes fell on Jenna, who had somehow managed to spill soda on Mike Montgomery.

“ _Why_ is she so desperate for attention?!” Hanna complained. Jenna was fumbling for the napkins on the table, somehow managing to almost fall into Mike's lap.

“What is she trying to do?” Aria asked incredulously. Jenna was acting apologetic, but Mike looked annoyed. _Love is blind_ , Spencer could imagine Alison saying. She snorted, leading Aria to give her a look. “Do you think she's-”

“Trying to get with your brother?” Spencer finished. “He doesn't look particularly interested, but since she can't see it...”

Aria shook her head. “I have seen Mike trying to flirt with girls, but it never went well,” she said. Then she looked at Hanna. “He had a huge crush on you back when we were friends with Ali.”

Hanna's facial expression suddenly changed. “Yeah, well,” she mumbled, returning to eating the tuna rolls.

 

* * *

 

Emily laid down in bed, staring at the ceiling. Her phone kept buzzing. She didn't know if it was Aria, Spencer, Hanna, or A texting, and at this point, she couldn't bring herself to care which.

Her mother had almost begged her to go to school. Emily said that she had a headache. Her mother clearly didn't believe it, but she knew better than pushing the subject at this point.

From a perspective, Emily did have a headache. A headache from trying to figure out what the point was of getting up and suffer through more of A's games.

Her phone buzzed again, more than usual this time, meaning it was a phonecall. Emily sighed, and reluctantly rolled to the side of the bed to pick her phone up from the nightstand. It was Hanna. Emily clicked to accept call.

“What do you want?” Emily grunted.

“Good morning Sleeping Beauty,” Hanna said in an attempt to sound cheerful. “I didn't see you at school today.”

“That's because I wasn't there,” Emily deadpanned.

“Right.” There was an awkward pause before Hanna continued. “Do you want a catch a movie on Friday?”

“Depends what time,” Emily said. “My mother is taking me to the doctor on Friday. Seems like someone named 'Nat' was concerned about me.”

“ _Nat_?” Hanna said incredulously.

“My mother was so insistent on me going to the doctor, and on this 'Nat' person getting a proper thanks for sending her some letter,” Emily told her. “It's not too much of a stretch to assume it's connected.”

“That's weird,” Hanna said. “Well, I need to go, but can you text me the time of the doctor's appointment so I can check what movies are on after that?”

“Sure,” Emily replied. _I'll do it later_ , she thought. “Bye,” she added.

“Goodbye.”

Emily closed her eyes. The goodbye didn't seem to be enunciated in Hanna's voice. _Focus_ , she scolded herself.

“ _Can I drive?”_

“ _You don't have a license.”_

“ _Neither do you,” the woman fleered._

“ _I have a driver's license, at least,” the man commented._

The woman's voice seemed so familiar. Emily took a deep breath, allowing the smell of perfume to really sink in. Her thoughts went to flowers, jasmine, apricot...

Emily snapped back to the present. She felt as if someone had electrocuted her. She was shock-full of energy, but not in a positive way. She called Hanna again. As soon as the clicking sound of her picking up the phone sounded through her ears, Emily said: “Hanna, do you have time to hang out?”

“Not now,” Hanna replied. “But as said, on Friday-”

“Great, we're going shopping for perfumes.”

“That sounds great!” Hanna replied giddily. “There's this new Chloé perfume I've been curious about, and-”

“No,” Emily interrupted her. “I remember the perfume smell from That Night, very vividly. I don't know where I recognize it from, but-”

“But if we identify the perfume, we know what brands A likes!” Hanna finished.

Emily snapped her fingers. “Actually, are you sure we can't go today?”

“I have an appointment with Dr. Sullivan,” Hanna said. “But after that...”

“Message me then. Bye.” Emily hung up the phone without waiting for a reply. But she felt strangely anxious- almost excited, about the prospect of finding the perfume. If it led to them finding out who it was- _Then what?_ A negative thought questioned.

Emily hesitated, but finally, chose to roll out of bed. If nothing else, she could try to find that letter her mother had been talking about, see if it could give her a clue about who 'Nat' was. Her mother had left early in the morning for a job interview, and had no idea that Emily was skipping her first day of school. She felt bad for disappointing her mother, but she couldn't bring herself to go there and pretend everything was okay, pretend her girlfriend had not gotten murdered and she had been dragged to the open grave of her first love.

The second Emily stood up, she felt dizzy. She sighed. The exhaustion had been plaguing her today, with the occasional headache as she went back and forth from sleeping to being awake and unable to sleep. As she left her room and stepped on the stairs, she held onto the railing tight so she wouldn't fall.

Her mother usually put the mail in a tidy little box on the counter, and she couldn't see a reason why she wouldn't have done so this time as well.

Finally, when Emily had managed to make it to the kitchen, she found exactly what she had been looking for, right at the top of the box. _At least something is going my way today,_ she thought, picking up the letter.

 

> _Dear Mrs. Fields,_
> 
> _I'm writing to you out of concern for your daughter, Emily. I overheard her talking to one of her friends earlier today, and Emily was expressing some disturbing thoughts of ending her life._
> 
> _Emily made said friend promise not to tell, but I think it would be irresponsible to do otherwise, especially now when she must be under such great distress, with her late best friend's grave being robbed._
> 
> _(Between you and me, girls like Emily have a tendency to have mental health issues. I would never dare say this to her with the risk of it being taken the wrong way, but I know you would understand...)_
> 
> _Regards,_
> 
> _-NAT_

Emily paused. _Girls like Emily_. For a moment, she was confused, and then it hit her. Nat was implying that being gay had something to do with her depression. Emily clenched her fist, preparing to throw the letter in the trash, when she suddenly noticed something in the signature.

It wasn't signed “Nat”. It was signed “NAT”.

She grabbed her phone and took a picture of the letter, signature in full view, and sent it to the girls' group chat. Her heart was beating hard in her chest as she waited for a reply. Hanna was first to open the message. Emily waited for Hanna to read the full letter, and then saw three dots indicating Hanna had begun to type. She took a deep breath.

_OMG, it looks so ugly when people type their name in all-capital letters,_ Hanna said.

Emily sighed heavily. _That's not the point, Hanna. What if it's not from 'Nat'? What if it's from 'N.A.T.'?_

Within seconds, Spencer was online in the chat. She read _a lot_ faster than Hanna, and was typing up a message within seconds:

_So this is who A is? A second coming of the N.A.T. Club? Do you think they switched up the members?_

Aria joined in on the discussion. _They must have, right? Garrett is in jail, and Jason seems busy..._

_Well, only a limited amount of people know about the club to begin with,_ Spencer argued. _Wait, someone's calling..._

The discussion stopped there. Minutes passed. Spencer didn't write anything else. Emily sighed and walked back upstairs to her bedroom.

 

* * *

 

“Thanks for meeting me here.”

Spencer clenched her fist. “Happy to,” she responded, in a voice that made it very clear she was _not_ happy. She was face-to-face with Garrett Reynolds, Alison and Maya's killer. A cop stood behind him, holding onto his gun as if he thought Garrett would try to smash the glass between them and make a wild escape. Spencer wasn't sure what made her more uncomfortable- being so close to a murderer, or the fact that said murderer had asked to call her and have a one-on-one meeting.

“Look, I know what you think of me,” Garrett said. “But I did _not_ kill Alison or Maya, and I did _not_ dig up anyone's grave, or hire someone else to do so. I mean, I couldn't, even, I'm trapped in here under supervision-”

“Then one of your cronies did it,” Spencer concluded.

Garrett scoffed. “Who would that be? My _pals_ at the precinct, the people who shoved me in here in the first place?”

“Perhaps one of your N.A.T. associates,” Spencer said, simpering. “Come on Garrett, I'm not stupid.”

“I know you're not stupid,” Garrett said. But then his face broke into a smile. “But even the smartest people can be fooled... Especially if it's by someone they trust.”

Spencer's confidence faltered for a second. “What do you mean?”

“Got your attention now, didn't I?” Garrett said proudly. “Maybe you're inclined to believe me then, when I say I've been set up.”

“Shouldn't you be telling your lawyer that?” Spencer sneered.

Garrett shook his head. “I'm not sharing anything unless I get the best lawyer in town,” he said. He leaned forward, his intimidating smile not wavering. “And I know _your_ family is better at keeping secrets than any other family in this town.”

_The best lawyer in town_. Spencer had the urge to choke him. “My mother is _not_ going to agree to defending you!” she snarled. “How could you even think that?”

“I know things about your family that they wouldn't want to get out,” Garrett stated.

“Are you threatening me?” Spencer asked.

“No,” Garrett said. “I'm stating a fact, Spencer. We're in this together.”

Irate, Spencer stood up from the chair. A cop behind Garrett stepped forward, grabbing his arm and lifting him up from the chair. “I think Miss Hastings wants to leave,” the cop said.

Garrett's arrogant facade broke. “Spencer,” he said pleadingly. “I know who took the body!”

Before Spencer could think of what to reply, the cop dragged Garrett away. Her phone made a noise. She sighed as she took her phone out of her pocket.

 

> _Mothers are all slightly insane. Garrett knows that well._
> 
> _-A_

 

* * *

 

Hanna flinched when her phone buzzed, expecting another threatening A text. She sighed in relief when she saw that Wren was the sender.

 

> _Are you coming to see Mona today?_

Hanna sent back a brief _yes_. She had already planned to do so, and Emily's N.A.T. realization had made her even more convinced. Mona was one of the few people who knew about the club's existence. Perhaps she could be of help. She opened the door, prepared to grab her wallet and run to Radley-

And to her shock, Caleb stood in the doorway.

“Caleb,” Hanna blurted.

Caleb, oblivious to her stress, smiled. Her chest felt warm at the sight of him. Without thinking, she leaned forward, allowing his lips to meet hers. He wrapped his arms around her, hugging her tightly. Hanna's face broke into a smile in between the kisses. Caleb swirled her around so her back was against the wall and started kissing her neck. Hanna giggled.

Then her phone vibrated, and Hanna felt a twinge of guilt. _Mona_.

She pulled away from Caleb. “What are you doing here?” she asked, picking up the phone from her pocket simultaneously.

 

> _Glad to hear. Mona is looking forward to seeing you._

“You said 'I'll see you tomorrow' yesterday,” Caleb said. “Didn't catch you at school, so I figured you meant we would meet up after...”

Hanna bit her lip. “I'm really sorry Caleb, but I have an appointment with Dr. Sullivan, and then I'm going shopping with Emily...”

Caleb nodded solemnly. “I understand,” he said.

Hanna leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek. “I can walk you home before I go,” she offered. “Just wait here while I grab my wallet.” She zipped up her handbag and threw in her phone, then left it on the hallway floor as she ran upstairs.

But when Hanna shoved the door open, she noticed something strange. Her wallet was on her bed rather than on her nightstand. Hanna's stomach dropped. Slowly, as if she expected someone to jump out and attack her at any moment, she reached out for the wallet. She opened it, and out fell a picture of her and the three girls standing by Alison's open grave. Hanna swallowed and looked on the back of the photo, where red text gave no doubts about who had broken into her home:

 

> _We see all._
> 
> _-A_

Hanna tore the picture into pieces and threw them into the trashcan, then walked out of her room, expecting Caleb standing by the door prepared to walk together, but instead, Caleb was standing just outside her bedroom door, holding her phone in his hand.

“You are meeting _Mona_?” he questioned.

Hanna felt a strange sensation rush through her. First cold panic. And then anger. “ _You snooped through my phone_?!” she yelled, snatching it back from him. The text from Wren was open.

Caleb looked down at the floor. “I know I shouldn't have,” he said. “But-”

“Get out,” Hanna commanded, pointing at the exit door.

“Hanna-"

“Leave,” Hanna said.

Caleb opened his mouth, then closed it again. Shaking his head, he walked down the stairs and opened the door to leave. “Can we please talk later?” he pleaded.

Hanna crossed her arms. Caleb understood, and closed the door behind him. Hanna looked at Wren's text again. Arguing with Caleb could wait. She had to find out what Mona knew, _now_.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hoping to release 'Part 2' before the end of the week!


	3. All Eyes On Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hanna and Emily are on the hunt for answers. Spencer finds an ally.

After the regular introductions- “I'm Mrs. Rivers, I'm here to visit Mona Vanderwaal,” the _One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest_ -style nurse sending her a glare for no reason, Hanna was more anxious than ever to see Mona.

The sound of her heels clinking against the floor echoed through the corridor again. Hanna sighed and pulled her handbag over her shoulder, continuing to walk. Despite being there so many times, she still felt afraid. She headed towards the playroom to check if Mona was there.

And then, a girl with honey-blonde, wavy hair exited the playroom.

Her back was turned to Hanna, so she couldn't see her face. However... Hanna scrutinized the girl's outfit. The emerald green top and short jean skirt was far more fashionable than what most Radley patients seemed to wear. In fact, it reminded her of the time Hanna asked Sean out for the first time, and Alison was...

“We'll talk later,” the girl said to someone in the playroom, tittering as she turned around to go into the individual rooms.

 _That voice,_ Hanna thought to herself. She started walking towards the girl, determined to get answers. Perhaps she was not so crazy after all. Perhaps all those weird thoughts she had about Radley were-

“Hanna?” Mona's voice called from the playroom.

Hanna stopped in her tracks. The blonde girl kept walking, presumably going to her own room. Hanna paused and took a deep breath, trying to gather her thoughts. _What was I thinking?_ Hanna began to scold herself. _Alison isn't alive. A is just messing with Emily. Besides, if Ali was alive, what would she be doing at freaking Radley? They would have recognized her from the Wanted posters._

Instead, Hanna turned to look at Mona. She was sitting at a table with two girls, smiling brightly, wearing a white cashmere sweater. Hanna recognized the classic toffee tango lipstick on her too. It was iconic to Mona. She had even worn it on the masquerade ball, moments before Hanna found out she was A...

“Hi!” Hanna said, walking up to Mona. Then she saw the girls sitting around her.

It was eerie how familiar they seemed. A girl with auburn hair and square-shaped glasses, who was so deep into the book she was reading that Hanna could barely see her face. And next to her, an extremely thin girl with pale blonde hair. For a moment, Hanna thought this girl looked like Alison too. But then Hanna realized the girl didn't look like Alison at all. The girl looked like _her_.

“Hi Hanna!” Mona replied, her smile not wavering. “This is Lesli Stone,” she pointed towards the girl with her nose in the book. “And Iris Taylor!” Iris smiled as well, and nodded towards Hanna as if to say “hi”.

“Nice to meet you,” Hanna said, trying not to feel bothered.

“Come here, sit!” Mona said enthusiastically, moving a chair out for Hanna to sit on.

Hanna was worried that Mona had somehow screwed with the chair so it would fall apart as soon as she sat on it, as some sort of diabolical plan to embarrass her in front of her new Radley friends. But then she realized it was ridiculous. She walked up to Mona and her two friends and sat down in the chair. It wasn't a comfortable one, but it didn't break, so any complaints were drowned by the feeling of relief.

“Too bad you got here so late,” Mona said. “The others just left.”

“The others?” Hanna echoed.

“My friends,” Mona explained. “Thank God Iris and Lesli are still here!”

“Right,” Hanna felt an odd mix of _jealousy_ , at how Mona seemed to have found a Hanna-clone in the hospital, and annoyance at Mona's smiling. As if nothing was wrong. As if Mona had not tried to run her over with a car a couple of months ago. “Mona, are you...” Hanna tried to find a way to say it subtly. “Are you aware of... Recent news?”

“You mean the body being stolen?” Mona asked, shaking her head. “Such a shame. I wonder what kind of sick person would do that.” Her eyes met Hanna's. Hanna tried to read her face, but Mona was impossible. _Of course, she is A,_ Hanna thought.

She refused to break eye contact with Mona. “Do you have any idea who may have done it?” Hanna asked, trying to make the question sound innocuous.

Mona replied with a nonchalant shrug. “Probably a group,” she suggested.

“A group?” Hanna leaned forward, at the edge of her seat at this point.

Iris cleared her throat.

“I mean, it makes sense,” she stated . “Digging up a grave, stealing a body and getting away with it, _unseen_ , can't be easy.” Her voice lilted slightly at the word _unseen_.

Hanna stared at Iris, and Iris' almond-shaped, light green eyes drilled right into hers in return. There was something cocky in her facial expression, and it was freaking Hanna out. The creepy resemblance between them did not help either. Iris moved her pointing finger, playing with the chain on her necklace. A golden chain with the letter I as a charm. Hanna could have sworn she had something similar in her jewelry collection.

There was no way the alikeness was coincidental. Mona was planning _something_. Hanna's nails were almost digging into the table at this point.

Lesli, who had been silent for the whole conversation, suddenly perked up. “Maybe they were trying to check something,” she suggested, moving her glasses further up her nose. “Such as cause of death. I believe I read something in the news about her autopsy report being stolen at some point.”

“Why would someone dig up a grave to check cause of death though?” Iris asked.

Lesli shrugged. “Maybe they wanted to check something the autopsy report missed.”

“What do you mean by ' _missed_ '?” Hanna questioned.

Lesli opened her mouth, but before she could say anything, Hanna felt someone laying a hand on her shoulder. She looked up and saw Wren.

“Hello Mrs. Rivers,” he greeted her. “Mona, it's time for your medication.” Mona nodded solemnly.

“Oh,” Hanna said. “I guess I better get going.” She stood up from the chair and gave the three girls an apologetic smile. Lesli was back to staring into the book. Iris was looking at herself in a pocket mirror. Mona was shaking her shoulders slightly, as if excited.

Suddenly, Mona spoke up. “Actually Hanna, before you leave...”

Hanna froze. Wren's grip on her shoulder tightened. “Hanna,” he whispered into her ear. “It's nice that you are getting along with Mona and her friends, but these girls are here because they have a severe mental illness. You should be careful around them.”

“I know,” Hanna whispered back. Then she looked at Mona. “What is it?” she asked.

“Could you do me a favor?” Mona asked.

Hanna shrugged.

“Don't forget to make sure your pockets are empty before throwing clothes in the laundry machine,” Mona said. Hanna blinked. Mona's eyes widened, as if she was trying to make herself look as innocent as possible. “I'm just looking out for you,” she said, with a voice that made it sound as if she was trying not to cry.

“Right,” Hanna said. “Well... I'll see you in a few days.”

They waved goodbye to each other, and then Hanna went with Wren to the corridor.

“At least she didn't tell me she saw Alison this time,” Hanna whispered to Wren.

“She is making great progress,” Wren professed. “If her good behaviour continues, perhaps...” He paused, as if he wasn't sure how to continue the sentence.

“Perhaps what?” Hanna asked.

Wren shook his head. “Nothing,” he said, smiling.

Before Hanna could reply, she heard the sound of the door to the corridor swinging open. Initially, she thought none of it, assuming it was one of the nurses going to Mona to give her the medication. But then she realized the person was not wearing a uniform. And they were not a nurse for sure either.

“ _Mike_?” she said in disbelief.

But it was Mike Montgomery, no doubt about it. He flinched and stared at Hanna, with a look that seemed almost... Embarrassed. _Or worried that he had gotten caught_... Hanna's heart skipped a beat.

“Hanna,” he acknowledged, and then continued his path down the corridor, as if it was no big deal.

Hanna swallowed, watching Mike walk away from the corner of her eye. She had interacted with him very little for the past few years. The last time they talked was years ago, when Alison was still alive... Then again, there had been very little talking, and more... She took a deep breath. _No point in thinking about it_ , she reminded herself, and turned to Wren instead.

“Does he come here often?” Hanna asked.

Wren shrugged. “I've seen him around every fortnight or so,” he said. “Mona has lots of visitors though, I wouldn't worry about it.”

Hanna took a step back. “He is visiting _Mona_?”

“As I said, a lot of people are visiting Mona,” Wren said. He reached out and touched Hanna's arm gently. “I know you feel protective of her, but the staff are present 24/7. If we see anyone trying to stir up drama, we will intervene immediately.”

Hanna swallowed. She hesitated initially- she didn't know Wren, after all. But Spencer knew him. Sure, she referred to him as 'Downtown Grabby' at times, but there didn't seem to be any bad blood between them. “He is Aria Montgomery's brother,” Hanna whispered. “Isn't it a bit _weird_ that he visits someone who tormented us?”

Wren nodded. “You'd be surprised to see who visits her,” he said.

“Why?” Hanna asked.

“I can't give you that information,” Wren said. “Confidentiality.”

Hanna rolled her eyes. “Well, haven't we broken a lot of confidentiality already?”

Wren grinned. “Not enough,” he replied. Then he straightened his posture. “My shift just ended, actually,” he continued. “So do you perhaps want a ride home?”

“Actually, I'm going to the shopping mall,” Hanna said.

“Well, then let me take you there,” Wren said.

Hanna thought about it for a minute. _Stranger danger_ , part of her warned, but she reminded herself that Spencer and Wren had hooked up briefly and were still on good terms.

“Sure,” she finally said.

But as they turned to the entrance, she looked over her shoulder. She couldn't see very clearly from so far away, but she saw enough to notice Mike sitting down in the chair she had just been in.

“Hanna, are you coming?”

“Oh, yeah, sorry,” Hanna mumbled, and turned back to Wren.

 

* * *

 

Spencer was hiding out in the barn, looking back at the yearbook that had revealed the N.A.T. Club. She had just decided to write up a list about everyone who knew about the club's existence when she heard a knock on the door. She raised an eyebrow. Her parents almost never approached her when she was in the barn, thinking she was busy studying.

To her surprise, when she opened the door, it was not her parents there. “ _Caleb_?”

“I did something wrong,” Caleb said, as if that explained everything.

“You went to my barn instead of Hanna's house?” Spencer asked sarcastically. “You must be blinder than Jenna.”

Caleb sighed. “No, I snooped through Hanna's phone-”

“You did _what_?”

“I'm not proud of it,” he added. “But I'm not sure what scares me the most right now- whether Hanna will forgive me, or what I found on her phone.”

Spencer, who was initially ready to deliver a speech about distrust and respect of privacy, stopped in her tracks. If Caleb had gone through Hanna's phone... “What did you find?” she asked, not wanting to jump the gun.

“I found out that she's been visiting Mona at Radley,” Caleb said.

Spencer's face fell. “ _What_?” she asked.

“Did you know about it?” Caleb questioned.

“No, of course not!” Spencer said, feeling borderline offended that Caleb thought she would have approved of this. “Are you _sure_?”

Caleb nodded, and then pointed behind Spencer. “Can we talk inside? I really-”

“No!” Spencer snapped. Caleb blinked. She tensed. “I... It's just really messy in here, I haven't had a chance to clean up.”

But it was too late. Caleb looked to the side of the hallway, and got a clear, good view of some of the posters of Alison, and newspaper article pages about her, that Spencer had taped, and in some cases nailed, to the walls. “By 'it's messy', did you mean ' _messed up_ '?”

Spencer hid her face in her hands. “I'm investigating,” she conceded.

“Investigating what?” Caleb wondered. “Are you trying to figure out who took Alison's body?”

“Among other things,” Spencer mumbled, feeling hesitant. The thought of showing someone the lair she had set up had never occurred to her. She didn't want to drag Toby into it, and definitely not her best friends either, considering all the other things they had to worry about. But Caleb... His relationship with Hanna meant that he was involved by association, yet not involved enough for A to bother trying to run him over with a car. She took a deep breath. “Do you want to come inside?” she asked.

Caleb stepped inside. Spencer took a quick look to ensure he hadn't been followed, then closed and locked the door.

“Wow,” Caleb breathed. He ran his fingers over the newspaper articles Spencer had put up, almost as if to caress them.

Spencer bit her lip. “I know,” she said. “I know I'm obsessing, but there are so many unanswered questions, about Alison, about the night she was killed, about who stole her body...”

“No, this is... Amazing,” Caleb said, looking up and down the walls. “How long have you been collecting this?”

“The whole summer,” Spencer confessed. “Yet I'm no closer to finding answers.” She traversed across the room and stopped by the whiteboard. The same things were written as yesterday. _Garrett Reynolds. Alison DiLaurentis. Maya St. Germain. N.A.T. Club. Black Swan. Alison's remains_. “Melissa seems convinced that Garrett didn't do it,” Spencer continued. “When I spoke to her back before Taylor was born she was very derisive about it-”

“Who's Taylor?” Caleb interrupted.

“Melissa's child with Ian,” Spencer said. “Or so I think...” She mumbled, thinking back to her meeting with Garrett in prison earlier. “I talked to Garrett today,” she admitted.

Caleb narrowed his eyes. “So Hanna has secret meetings with Mona, you with Garrett. What's next, Aria meeting with the Zodiac Killer?”

“Look, I don't know why Hanna is meeting Mona,” Spencer said. “But in the case of me and Garrett, I wanted answers about Alison's body. Instead, he made a cryptic comment about my family.”

“Cryptic how?” Caleb asked.

“He said 'your family is better at keeping secrets than any other in this town',” Spencer quoted.

Caleb put the pieces together quicker than she had anticipated. “So you think this means Melissa's baby isn't Ian's?”

“Specifically, I think Taylor might be _his_ ,” Spencer said.

Caleb sat down in the chair by her laptop. “That's... A lot to think about,” he said.

Spencer motioned towards all the pictures on the wall. “That's why I made this,” she explained. “That way, I can consider every situation, every object, every detail, and never make an incorrect assumption again.”

Caleb put his elbow on the table and put his chin on the palm of his hand. “You are mad at yourself for thinking Melissa was A,” he concluded.

Spencer swallowed. There was some truth to it. She was angry that she had been outsmarted by Mona. “I'm not going to be wrong this time,” she said.

Caleb stood up. “I knew it,” he said. “A is back, and Hanna isn't telling me.”

Spencer put both hands up, as if she was preparing to push him back into the chair. “Calm down,” she commanded. “There is a reason she can't.”

“What reason?” Caleb asked.

Spencer sighed. “It all began the night Alison's body was stolen...”

 

* * *

 

“Nice car,” Hanna said. It was the same model as her ex Sean's car had been... Before she crashed it. But she wasn't sure if that was information she should be sharing.

“Thank you,” Wren said, opening up the door for her. “Ladies first,” he added. Hanna stepped in. She sniffed the air inside, noting the smell of some sort of cleaning soap.

“I'm a bit of a neatfreak,” Wren explained, as if he had read Hanna's thoughts. “Got it from my mum. Must be genetic.” He started the car up, and Hanna leaned back in the seat. It felt nice to take the car instead of walking, admittedly, and now she could use that extra time to go for some actual shopping while waiting for Emily. “So, what are your plans for the mall?” he asked.

“Oh, nothing special,” Hanna lied. “Just going shopping with Emily, and maybe our other friends too if they have time.”

“Shopping anything specific?” Wren asked.

“Perfumes,” Hanna told him. “Chloé released one recently that I'm curious about. And I really need a new perfume.”

“How come?” Wren asked. “I think you smell great.”

Hanna blushed, suddenly feeling very nervous about being in the car with him. “My boyfriend says so too,” she said, hoping that would divert Wren in case he had any romantic intentions. “But thank you,” she added.

“Is Mike a former boyfriend of yours?” Wren suddenly asked.

Hanna froze. “No,” she said.

Wren shrugged. “You seemed so bothered by him being there, I thought there might be history.”

Hanna paused. “If I tell you, will you tell Spencer?” she asked.

Wren laughed. “No, no,” he said. “Spencer and I almost never talk these days.”

Hanna took a deep breath. There was no shame in it, really, she had just never told anyone. “He kissed me once,” she confessed. “I suppose I'm worried about him saying bad things about me to Mona.”

“I'm sure you don't need to worry,” Wren said. “I can't tell you what they talk about on their visits, but I assure you there is no gossiping.”

“That's comforting,” Hanna admitted. “But that doesn't mean he might not say something now...”

Wren moved one hand off the steering wheel and caressed Hanna's arm. “I assure you, even if he were to say something, Mona wouldn't think less of you,” he said.

“Maybe not,” Hanna answered, then the bitterness rose. “Especially not now that she has replaced me with Iris.”

Wren shook his head. “Replacements are just that Hanna, replacements.” Before Hanna could ponder what to say next, he stopped the car. “And we've arrived!” he finished.

Hanna smiled. “Thank you for the ride,” she said. “I owe you one.”

 

* * *

 

Aria had finally managed to get her novel started.

Being at her old house rather than in her mother's apartment helped a lot with the concentration. Although, every now and then an intrusive thought questioned what her mother was doing now, if Jason had slept over, if he was still at her apartment... Aria shuddered. _I don't know and I don't want to know_ , she told herself.

She had decided to write down everything as it had happened, and edit names later. And write the events in chronological order, meaning that about a quarter of the book would be detailing her friendship with Alison. If it had even been a friendship. At this point, Aria didn't feel so sure anymore. The more she wrote, the more she realized that Alison had been dragging them down more often than she pulled them up.

She had just finished writing _The Jenna Thing_ when her phone rang. It was Ezra. She smiled and clicked to answer.

“Hi,” she said.

“Hello Jane Austen,” Ezra greeted her.

Aria giggled. “Jane Austen, really?”

“How's writing going?” he asked.

“Great,” Aria answered. “I'm mostly going through backstory right now, trying to get the proper build-up...”

“That's amazing!” Ezra replied. “If you want to, I could read what you've written so far.”

“I was already planning to send it to you,” Aria said, smiling. “As soon as I have proof-read it myself.”

“I love how thorough you are,” Ezra said.

Aria tilted her head slightly. As wrong as it was... She somehow _missed_ having him as her teacher. “How is job searching going?” she asked.

She regretted the question almost immediately once she heard the tone of Ezra's voice. “It's...” his voice trailed off. He had been writing articles for an online news site, which was mostly click-baiting and attempts to appeal to young teenagers' political views. Ezra had once described the job as ' _criticizing a TV series even though you've never seen it, just basing it off the opinions of the loudest outraged teenagers on Twitter_ '. “Aria, I just had to write an article sawing a new movie for offensive representation of marginalized groups,” he said. “I watched the movie, I even _enjoyed_ it, and I disagree with the outrage against it, but my job is to appeal to the readers.” He sighed loudly. “The worst part is that the marginalized groups were actually represented well, but if I tell them-”

“Then they'll tear you apart in return,” Aria concluded.

Ezra sighed. “I miss teaching,” he confessed. “But the only school with an open teaching position is...”

He didn't finish his sentence. “Rosewood High?” Aria asked.

“Aria,” Ezra said. “I don't want to have to hide my relationship with you again.”

Aria looked down at her feet. “We'll work it out,” she said. “Is there anything else you can do? Not necessarily something that pays, just... Something that will occupy you while you wait for a real job.”

“I've considered volunteering to help students with homework and studying for tests,” Ezra said.

“That's a great idea!” Aria exclaimed. “You should do that.”

“I'm considering it,” Ezra said. “But it will take at least one or two weeks before people start applying, so there's a while left...”

Before Aria could respond, she heard a knock on the door. “I have to go, bye,” she said quickly, hanging up. The last thing she wanted was her father to overhear her talking to Ezra. However, when she got up from the chair and opened the door, it was not her father standing there.

It was Mike.

“Hi Mike,” Aria said, putting on the brightest smile she could. “What's up?”

“Were you talking to Hanna?” Mike asked, looking a little nervous.

“No,” Aria answered. “How so?”

Mike looked a little on edge.

“Tell Hanna that I won't say anything unless she does,” Mike replied.

Then he walked away, leaving Aria feeling as if she had missed something important.

 

* * *

 

“Em, where are you?” Hanna asked.

“I'm almost there,” Emily replied.

“Hello!” a loud voice interrupted. Hanna winced. A woman with dark skin, long, straight brown hair and brown eyes simpered at her. She looked down at the woman's chest and realized she worked at the store. Her name tag read “ _Shana_ ”. “Do you need help with anything?” Shana asked.

“No thanks,” Hanna replied. Luckily, before Shana could start trying to sell her anything, Emily showed up. She looked more disheveled than ever, with uncombed hair, a t-shirt Hanna could swear was either inside-out, backwards, or both, and oversized jeans that were only held up by a belt. It wasn't until that moment that Hanna realized Emily had lost quite a bit of weight. She scolded herself for not looking closer earlier.

“Hi,” Emily said, her voice devoid of enthusiasm.

Hanna turned to Shana. “Oh, my friend Emily here is looking for a certain perfume, do you think you could help her out?”

Shana shrugged. “Sure. What's the occasion?”

Emily shook her head. “No occasion. I just remember a perfume... It smelled a little bit like flowers, maybe jasmine...”

“We can start among the more popular perfumes,” Shana suggested. She gave Emily a look up and down, blatantly checking her out. Emily didn't seem to notice at all, her eyes already having found the most-sold perfume shelf. As she walked up towards it, Shana's eyes traveled down to Emily's butt and legs, and she suddenly smiled genuinely.

Hanna couldn't help feeling weirdly self-conscious. Even at her messiest self, the attention was on Emily. But Hanna, who had spent a good portion of the morning perfecting her makeup and fixing her hair so every strand was in place, received only a fake smile. _Do I have a hospital smell on me or something?_ Hanna wondered as she walked over to Emily and Shana, trying her best to keep her posture up and not slouch.

 

* * *

 

Shana handed Emily a stick. Emily stared at it in confusion for a few seconds, until Shana informed her that it was something to spray the perfume on.

“Don't trust the tester sticks too much,” Hanna whispered into her ear, standing on the opposite side of Shana. “The fragrance sometimes smells totally different on your skin.”

Emily sighed. “I just want to get this over with,” she mumbled, spraying the first perfume she saw onto the stick. She pressed the stick closely to her nose. It smelled slightly like _wood_ , not the same scent she felt in the car at all. She moved on to the next one. Each one of the perfumes had celebrity names on them.

“Let me know if you need help with anything else,” Shana said. Emily looked at the wall behind Shana and nodded. Having eye contact with someone cheerful wasn't something she was in the mood for right now. Or ever, at this point. She tried the next perfume, still with no luck.

Suddenly, Hanna poked her on the arm. “Em, try this one,” she said, handing her a pitch black perfume bottle.

“Hanna, I'm here to find out which perfume A is using, I'm not interested in an actual perfume,” Emily replied.

“Then try this one!” Hanna insisted.

Emily, who didn't feel bothered enough to ask why Hanna was so insistent on this particular perfume, took the bottle from Hanna and sprayed it right at Hanna.

The smell wafted through the air. Emily took a deep breath, letting her nostrils take in the scent. For a brief moment, she was no longer in the perfume store. She was in the backseat of a car, with an unknown driver behind the wheel, and someone next to Emily was clinging onto the front seat, bothering the driver. Emily blinked, and she was back in the store again.

“That's it,” Emily said. “I'm 100% sure, this one is it.”

Hanna gave her a worried look. “What?” Emily asked.

“It's Lady Gaga's _Fame_ perfume,” Hanna replied. “Remember who Alison dressed up as on Halloween?”

Emily felt as if the store was shrinking around her. “What?” was all she could muster herself to say.

“Em,” Hanna said urgently. “What if A isn't messing with us? What if Alison is _alive_?”

Emily felt as if an ocean wave had hit her hard. She was struggling to stay on her legs. She didn't want to grab Hanna, and instead, leaned back slightly onto the perfume table. Her heartbeats hit rapidly. She thought back to Halloween, when Alison had worn the Lady Gaga costume. Of course she recognized the smell. Her memory went back to the Halloween party, when she had been looking at Jenna, and Alison had walked up to her to mock her about her liking girls-

Then Emily pulled the brakes.

“ _Wait_!” she said, grabbing Hanna's arm.

Hanna's eyes widened. “Emily, Jesus, chill,” she said, twisting her arm out of Emily's grip.

“Sorry, I just- Alison wasn't the only Lady Gaga that night!” Emily exclaimed. “You know who else dressed up as Lady Gaga? _Jenna_.”

Hanna's mouth formed an O. Then Emily looked behind her friend, and noticed Shana giving them an odd look from across the store. Emily felt a shiver down her spine. Hanna seemed to notice her discomfort, because she turned around as well, and saw Shana staring.

“Let's get out of here,” Hanna said. Emily nodded in agreement. But as they were walking down the store, image after image began to play in front of Emily's eyes, like a set of photos. The woman sitting next to her in the backseat ran her fingers through her own long, dark brown hair. And when Emily looked at the woman's face, she was met with two green, wide-open eyes, piercing right through hers as if her soul was bared, and a derisive smirk that seemed to say, “ _I've got you right where I want you_ ”.

 _It can't be_ , Emily thought to herself, but with each image it became more and more clear.

Jenna Marshall had been in the car with her That Night. And there had been no problems with her sight.

 

* * *

 

Spencer's retelling of That Night was interrupted by a text.

> _Just got home. Emily says she remembers Jenna in the car That Night, and Jenna could see!_

“What's wrong?” Caleb asked.

Spencer looked back up at him. She hesitated. After all, she hadn't asked the other girls for permission to share this with him. Not even Hanna, and this was Hanna's _boyfriend_. Before Spencer could decide whether to tell him or not, Caleb's phone made a sound. He picked the phone up. He took a breath.

“Now it's my turn to ask what's wrong,” Spencer said, crossing her arms.

To her surprise, Caleb looked vulnerable. “My mother was robbed,” he said, his voice so low it was almost a whisper.

Spencer paled. “You can go, it's okay,” she said.

“Thank you for showing me all this,” Caleb said. “But I need to-”

“It's an emergency, I understand,” Spencer reassured him.

Caleb nodded and walked out of the barn, leaving Spencer in a confused emotional state. She shook her head and looked back at the text from Hanna. Jenna could _see_?

 

* * *

 

Hanna checked her phone to see if Spencer had responded, but to her surprise, she had not. Instead, there was a text from an unknown number, with a video attached to it. It must have been sent while she was walking Emily home. Her stomach dropped. Against her own wishes, she clicked to open.

The video was dark for the first couple of seconds. It was someone's bedroom, presumably, but the lights were off. Whoever filmed it switched on a flashlight, and walked up to a bed. It had a white blanket, with little pink roses embroidered on it, as if it had been made by hand. The camera panned over to the top of the bed, where a woman was sleeping peacefully.

Hanna stared in horror as the camera swept to the woman's face. It was Caleb's _mother_.

Caleb's mother grunted slightly, shifting in the same position in bed. Suddenly, a _knife_ came up close, right in front of the camera. Hanna flinched. Whoever was holding it twisted the blade in the air slightly, as if to show it from different angles to her. Its blade was sharp, as if it had been purchased recently. Hanna gasped as A put the knife dangerously close to Caleb's mother's throat...

Then the video ended, followed by a text message clear in intent:

> _Red was always my favorite colour..._
> 
> _-A_
> 
>  

“Hanna?”

Hanna jumped at the voice, and turned around. Caleb stood in her doorway, tear-eyed. “H-hey,” she stammered, putting her phone away. “Did mom let you in?”

Caleb nodded. “I'm so sorry about snooping through your phone earlier,” he said. “I was just worried, and...” He paused, and let out a sniffle.

Hanna felt as if someone had stabbed her in the gut. “What's wrong?” she asked, even though she was sure she knew.

“Someone broke into my mother's house,” Caleb sobbed. “They cut her in the arm before escaping... The cut wasn't too bad, luckily, but the fact that someone would even do that to her... And all her money is gone...” He put his hand over his mouth, as if that would stop the crying.

Hanna felt her heart shatter. Her phone buzzing did not help in the slightest. She took a deep breath and looked at the text:

> _Break up with your BF, or I'll orphan him._
> 
> _-A_
> 
>  

Hanna gulped. Caleb, who didn't even seem to notice the scared look on her face, reached out for a hug. Hanna felt sick to her stomach when she stepped away.

Caleb's entire face twisted into the most hurt face Hanna had ever seen. “Hanna?” Caleb asked, his voice barely a whisper as he was trying not to get choked up by the tears.

The guilt was swallowing Hanna. How was she supposed to do this? Especially now, when Caleb was already so upset? But the cost of not doing it... The image of A holding a knife over Caleb's sleeping mother was enough.

“Caleb,” Hanna said, struggling to keep her voice strong. “Snooping through my phone was just a symptom of a larger problem, don't you think?”

She could see his heart break just by looking into his eyes. She wanted to tell him the truth- she wanted to show him the threat from A, tell him that she didn't actually want to do this. But what if A was still in California? She couldn't gamble Caleb's mother's life on it. “Hanna,” Caleb said, his voice weaker by each word. “I snooped because I thought you were cheating on me.”

Hanna wanted to scream. She wanted to question why he would ever think she was cheating, why he would doubt her loyalty to him after all this time. “Maybe you weren't completely wrong,” Hanna lied.

Caleb looked at her in disbelief. Hanna fought the tears and guilt that tried to eat her up. “B-but the texts said you were meeting Mona,” Caleb said.

Hanna, unable to stand seeing him hurting, turned away, refusing to face him. “It's what we say when we're planning to meet up,” she lied.

“Hanna, that's asinine, you pretend to meet up with your _former stalker_ so you can hook up with someone else?”

Hanna bit her lip. “Please go,” she said, feeling bile rise in her throat.

Caleb walked up to her, caressing her arm. “Hanna, if this is about A-”

Hanna turned around. “You know about A?” she asked.

“Yes, Spencer told me,” Caleb admitted. “But-”

Briefly, Hanna considered doing what she truly wanted. Embrace Caleb, hold him close to her, cry, tell him that everything she had just said was a lie, and that A forced her to do it or his mother would be killed. But if she did... The image of A with a knife over his mother flashed before her eyes again.

“It doesn't change anything,” she lied, taking a step back. “Please, _go_.” She turned her back on him again.

There was a pause. Then she heard Caleb sniffle. Then she heard the sound of her bedroom door closing.

Then she heard him walk away.

Finally, Hanna allowed herself to feel, and burst into tears.

 

* * *

 

“ _Happiness, is a firecracker sitting on my headboard_

_Happiness, was never meant to hold_

_Careful child, light the fuse and get away_...”

The lighter made a loud, _click_ ing sound as A prepared to light the cigarette.

“ _'Cause happiness, throws a shower of sparks..._ ”

A threw the lighter on the side table and picked up the control to lower the volume of the music, instead turning their eyes towards the TV. Hanna was sitting on the floor, crying her eyes out over the breakup.

And then, all of sudden, Hanna looked up, eerily close to the camera, and reached into her pocket, fishing up a USB-stick. She stared at it in confusion, the questions being written all over her face. _What is this? Where did it come from?_

A moved the cigarette between their pointing and middle finger, and then squeezed it tightly, almost breaking the cigarette in two.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Borrowing Iris Taylor from the PLL books, but making sure she looks more like Hanna and less like Alison... Because let's face it, there are a bit too many Ali clones in Rosewood.
> 
> Next chapter might take a little longer, because this week and next is very busy for me, but I've already started writing on it, so who knows. Maybe I'll surprise myself.


	4. Now We're Only Falling Apart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things get worse before they get better.
> 
> Just kidding. This A is just getting started.

Spencer plugged the USB-stick into Hanna's laptop while the latter tugged at the sleeves of the sweater she was wearing. All Hanna had texted her was “ _found something weird in my pocket_ ”, but judging by her school absence and choice of clothing – sweater and sweatpants in grey monochromes – it was clear something else was going on too.

“Where is Emily?” Aria asked, playing with the edges of her skirt.

“She's going with her mother to the doctor,” Spencer replied. She clicked to open the files on the USB, and found 6 folders. “Guys,” she said to Aria and Hanna. “You need to see this.” She heard Hanna hop off her bed in the background, and Aria's semi-skip up to the computer.

> Aria. Emily. Hanna. Spencer. Alison. Other.

“What's in the folders?” Aria asked.

“I suppose we're about to find out,” Spencer replied. She started with opening the _Alison_ folder, and was welcomed with hundreds of image and video files. Some, she could recognise from the thumbnail- old N.A.T. videos. _The Jenna Thing_ was in there too, among other things.

But some didn't look familiar.

None of the videos had clear-cut names either, unlike what the former N.A.T. Club's videos had. Each one appeared to be nonsense. “zorhlmerhrghvnrob2,” “rirh,” “xvxvzmwnvorhhz,” and the list went on.

A _crunch_ interrupted Spencer's thoughts. She looked behind her and saw Hanna standing up, holding a box of cereal, and eating it straight out of the box. Her eyes looked down when Spencer laid her eyes on her, as if she was ashamed. She put the cereal box down on her bed. Spencer turned back to the computer.

“Hanna, how did this end up in your pocket?” Spencer asked.

Hanna shrugged. “Beats me,” she said. “Found it a few days ago and-”

“You've had this for _days_?” Spencer asked, crossing her arms.

“I had a lot to think about, okay?!” Hanna exclaimed. Then she looked away again, as if she had said too much. “Let's just see what's on it,” she said, walking up to the laptop.

“Hanna-” Spencer tried to intervene, wanting to sort the videos by date first, but Hanna had already clicked to open the first video available. Hanna sat down in the chair and leaned in closely to the computer.

It showed Alison's open grave, and Emily wandering around it, sobbing loudly.

“I don't want to see this-” Hanna began, but then another figure showed up in the video. Someone wearing a red coat, with long, blonde hair, and a hood draped over their head, looking down at the ground, making it impossible to see their face. The person walked closer to Emily, and to the open grave, holding a hand up.

“Turn up the volume!” Spencer said. Hanna tried, but it was already at max. The video seemed to be slightly too far away to catch what they were saying. All they heard was slight mumbling from whoever this person was. It looked as if they were trying to console Emily, but it was hard to tell. They turned around again, as if to leave, but were stopped by Emily grabbing their shoulder. The person looked back to her, and something was being said again, and then they left.

Spencer leaned over Hanna and paused the video, going back a few seconds to try to see the person's face. They appeared to be wearing a mask. Spencer frowned.

“Poor Em,” Aria said, her eyes locked on the computer. “She remembers nothing from that night, and yet we need all these details from her...”

“This has to be Jenna,” Spencer concluded. “You said Emily remembered being in the car with her That Night, and that she could see.”

“But why is a video of _Jenna_ in the _Alison_ folder?” Hanna asked.

“Maybe the N.A.T. Club is just trying to trick us,” Spencer suggested. “You said it yourself, this video came out of nowhere. This has to be N.A.T. bragging to us about how they see everything and have all these videos of us...”

Before Spencer could elaborate, Hanna was scrolling down in the _Alison_ folder, past images of Ali that Spencer had never seen before. Quite a lot of pictures of Alison as Vivian Darkbloom, but also a few of Alison hanging out with unknown girls. Hanna narrowed her eyes and clicked to open one photo. It was a group photo, showing Alison surrounded by four girls that appeared to be around the same age as her, posing for the camera, smiling, laughing. It could have been the five of them.

Except, it definitely wasn't, even if the similarities were uncanny.

One of the girls had auburn hair and glasses. She stood next to Alison on the left side, but looked to be the furthest away from her, emotionally speaking. Her eyes were on Alison, but she didn't look as happy as the others. She looked dissatisfied- much like Spencer had felt with Ali.

Next to her stood a girl with straight, blonde hair, save for a screaming orange-red stripe on the side, much like the pink stripe Aria used to have. She looked happy – perhaps a little _too_ happy – and was leaning against the shoulder of the girl with glasses.

On Alison's right side were two girls. One had honey-blonde hair and held Alison's arm, leaning closely into Alison, as if she was her personal guard. Looking at her reminded Spencer of how Alison would sometimes mock Emily for being protective of her, yet still keep Emily as close to her as possible.

The other was an extremely skinny girl, who had a slightly nervous but still enthusiastic smile, reminiscent of how insecure Hanna used to look back when she was overweight.

“Well, _that_ is creepy,” Aria stated.

“I know two of those girls,” Hanna said.

Spencer raised an eyebrow. “How?” she asked.

“Oh... just... you know... from around,” Hanna mumbled, clicking away from the image. Spencer had given Hanna days to come clean about going to Radley to visit Mona, yet she hadn't even tried.

“What do you mean 'from around'?” Spencer questioned.

Hanna sighed. “I visited Mona at Radley, once,” she said, her voice wavering slightly.

“ _Once_ ,” Spencer echoed. Caleb had made it sound as if it was something recurring. Either he misunderstood, or Hanna was lying. She gave Hanna a skeptical look as the latter continued explaining.

“I went to visit Mona and I saw those two girls sitting with her at a table,” Hanna said, pointing at the underweight girl and the girl with the glasses. “They were Radley patients, I'm sure of it.”

“Wait,” Aria said. “Why would Ali be hanging out with Radley patients?”

“Maybe they weren't patients back then,” Spencer theorized. “Then again, that would mean both girls coincidentally ended up in Radley after Ali died...” Hanna seemed to have stopped listening, instead going back to her bed to hide the cereal box under the covers. Spencer raised an eyebrow. “Let's keep going through the videos,” Spencer continued. “And check the _Other_ folder too.”

“Can we not do this in my room?” Hanna complained.

“We could go to my house,” Aria suggested.

“Never mind, here is fine,” Hanna suddenly said.

Aria looked offended. “Is there something wrong with my house?” she asked.

“No, I just realized I'm too fatigued to go all the way there,” Hanna excused.

Spencer shook her head and went into the _Other_ folder, deciding to look closer at the Alison photos and videos later. That folder was even bigger. She sighed and began to scroll, trying to identify the people in the thumbnails. Some people she didn't recognize, some were acquaintances from school... Spencer stopped at a thumbnail that looked very strange, and opened the video up, but muted the sound. It only took a few seconds before she realized where the video was going, and she immediately closed it.

“There is a video of Melissa _giving birth_!” Spencer said in horror.

“ _What_?!” Hanna and Aria exclaimed concurrently.

Spencer pulled the USB-stick out of Hanna's laptop. “I'm taking this,” she said. “I think I'll save Hanna from the image of Melissa with her legs spread and-”

“ _Ew_!” Hanna yelled. “I don't need the details Spencer! I'm traumatized as it is from the childbirth video we were shown in Biology class.”

“Don't remind me,” Aria said, shuddering. “I'm _so_ glad I'm not giving birth anytime soon.”

“You and Fitz would make the _cutest_ babies though,” Hanna said.

Spencer, who was more disgusted at the prospect of Aria having children with her former English teacher than any childbirth video in the world, decided it was time to leave. She put the USB in her handbag and zipped it shut. She was bringing it to the lair in the barn and making a copy of every single file, and... She paused. Caleb was an expert on computers, after all. He would know how to keep all the files extra safe, so no surprise A attack came to delete them.

“I'm going to the library,” Spencer lied. “Leaving school early is not doing my grades any favors.”

“Is everything okay?” Aria asked.

Spencer looked at Aria. Her intense hazel eyes were widened, as if she was _shocked_ that Spencer was leaving so fast.

“I'm just worried I'll fall behind on schoolwork,” Spencer lied. Although, it was not one hundred percent a lie. She _was_ concerned that A would mess with her grades somehow, or put her in so much drama that studying wouldn't be possible.

Aria smiled. “Ezra said he might start helping students with homework,” she said. “Maybe he could assist you?”

Spencer snorted. “Right, not awkward at all.”

“It's not _awkward_!” Aria said in a hurt voice. Spencer felt guilty. “Ezra doesn't have a proper job right now, and he misses teaching. This could help him!”

“I'll think about it,” Spencer lied, not wanting to say “ _I'd rather watch Days Of Our Lives with Melissa_ ” even if it was the truth. Aria's happiness was important to her, but the more she thought about her and Ezra together, the more uneasy she felt. She wanted to be accepting, and was afraid meeting Mr. Fitz again just might have the opposite effect.

“Thank you,” Aria said earnestly. Spencer looked away from her and left.

 

* * *

 

“Caleb and I broke up,” Hanna confessed once Spencer had left.

Aria blinked. “You broke up?”

Hanna nodded slowly, staring at the cereal box poking out from its hiding spot beneath the bed covers.

“Why?” Aria asked, and sat down on the bed next to Hanna. Her hands reached out to Hanna's and squeezed them slightly to show support.

“A threatened Caleb's mom,” Hanna explained. “She... He... Whatever they are, traveled all the way to California with a knife...”

“Hanna, that's awful,” Aria said, opening her arms. Hanna leaned into Aria's embrace, allowing her to hug her tightly. She took a deep breath. Aria smelled like licorice, most likely from the organic shampoo she told her she started using during summer. It was making Hanna crave candy. But she couldn't go back to binging... Eating cereal straight from the box was bad enough. It was going to throw the whole balance she had built up with the diet off. _Caleb wouldn't have wanted me to binge_ , Hanna reminded herself. Her heart felt as if it was going to break when she thought of how he had been using their diet as an excuse to put bacon on everything. Would he continue the diet now? Or would he hate her too much to go on with their routine?

The depressing thoughts were interrupted when Aria's fingers traversed over her arm. Hanna shuddered at the touch. It was most likely meant to comfort her, but Aria's hands were ice cold.

“Iceland must have suited you well,” Hanna said.

Aria smiled. “It did,” she said. “I'm hoping my family can go there for winter vacation. Mike doesn't seem too thrilled about it though, but maybe that's because mom might not join...”

The thought of Mike made Hanna queasy. First how Jenna had “accidentally” fallen into his lap at the school lunch earlier that week- very creepy in hindsight now that it was clear she had been faking blindness to do it. Then how he had showed up at Radley, and turned out to be visiting Mona regularly. And on top of that, the time he and Hanna had hooked up, culminating in Alison walking in on them just as they were about to- Hanna tensed. _It didn't happen, it didn't happen_ , she tried to convince herself. But it _had_ happened. She had told Wren about it, a little bit.

And now Aria was sitting in her bed, caressing her arm, trying to keep her company after an ugly breakup, blissfully unaware that Hanna and her brother had shared a moment in the past, and that Mike was visiting Mona in Radley...

Hanna felt undeserving.

“You should go,” Hanna said, pulling away from Aria.

“Why?” Aria asked, sounding sad and confused.

“You probably have things to do,” Hanna said. “I don't want to take up your time.”

She looked away, but she could feel Aria's eyes on her. “Did something happen between you and Mike?” Aria questioned.

Hanna felt as if her blood had frozen to ice. “W-Why would you think that?

“I talked to Mike a few days ago and he said that if you didn't tell, neither would he,” Aria said.

Hanna sighed. It must have been regarding Radley. “I just saw him at Radley while I was there to see Mona,” she explained.

Aria narrowed her eyes. “Mike was at Radley?”

Hanna nodded. “And he goes there _a lot_ from what I heard.” She looked down at her nails.

“Heard from who?”

“Mona's doctor,” Hanna replied. It was almost true. Wren was a volunteer. “He offhand mentioned it, not as a confidentiality breach or anything.”

“Mike visits Mona,” Aria said slowly, as if she was trying to let the statement sink in. “Why?”

Hanna had a theory. A theory Aria wouldn't want to hear. So instead, she tried to act nonchalant. “Maybe he feels safer seeing her in a straightjacket,” Hanna suggested.

“I'll talk to him,” Aria assured her.

Hanna swallowed. Then there was the risk of Mike telling Aria about their brief hookup years ago as retaliation... But it was a risk she was willing to take. If it opened Aria's eyes, it would be okay.

Because the past few days, Hanna had not only been crying over Caleb. She had also thought about different reasons why Mike would be visiting Mona. And why A would want her and Caleb to break up.

Perhaps Mike was A. Or involved in N.A.T. 2.0 at the very least.

“You should come to school next week,” Aria said.

“Yeah, I bet _Kate_ misses me,” Hanna said sarcastically.

Aria made a grimace. “Well, she seems to be settling in all right,” she said. “I heard she joined a club for Christian students.”

Hanna made a wheezing sound. “Kate in a Christian club is like pineapple on pizza.”

“What's wrong with pineapple on pizza?” Aria asked.

Hanna rolled her eyes. “Did she attempt to ruin my life yet in any other way?”

“Not that I know of,” Aria said. “But I know she signed up to take care of one of the exchange students coming next semester.”

“Exchange students?” Hanna asked.

“From Finland,” Aria explained. “I considered it, but it didn't seem appropriate with what's going on with my family...”

Hanna nodded. “Speaking of your family, why is Jason DiLaurentis dating your mom?”

“I don't know, and I'm trying to stay out of it,” Aria said. Her eyes glimmered, as if she was getting upset. Hanna sat up straight in her bed.

“You and Jason don't have anything going on anymore, right?” Hanna asked.

Aria looked offended. “No, it was just that one kiss, and _he_ initiated it.”

Hanna leaned back to her bed frame. “Well...” she said. “You have nothing to be embarrassed about then.”

“I know,” Aria said. “It just bothers me that he doesn't even talk about it, he just acts like it never happened.”

“Isn't that what you want him to do?” Hanna asked. “I mean, Aria, if your mom found out, then that would stir up so much drama. Isn't acting like nothing happened the best course of action?”

Aria looked away. “Yeah,” she mumbled. “I suppose so.”

 

* * *

 

“We're here to pick up a prescription of _Risperdal_ , _Effexor_ , and _Lamictal_ ,” Pam Fields whispered to the pharmacy cashier.

Emily hid behind her mother, hoping people would assume her mother was picking up the medications for herself rather than for her daughter.

The doctor's appointment alone had been embarrassing enough. Her mother had whipped out the N.A.T. letter, detailed how Emily seemed distant and how the few times she wasn't, she was defensive. And how Emily apparently, during summer when drinking, had seemed volatile. Emily couldn't vouch for whether that was true or not, as she didn't remember. Most of her summer had been spent building houses. The few times she was home, she went to parties and drank until she didn't know what she was drinking anymore. Irregardless, she was embarrassed to hear that she was being prescribed no less than three medications. Medications that Emily had looked up on her phone and found out was being used to treat patients with a ton of disorders Emily did _not_ have, but apparently showed enough worrying symptoms to suggest she would benefit from the same treatment as those patients.

Her mother put the medicine boxes in a small, green plastic bag, thanked the cashier, and smiled towards Emily. “You'll start taking them tomorrow,” she explained as they left the store and began their walk towards the parking lot. “I'll hand them to you, so you don't-”

Emily glared at her mother. “Mom, I'm not going to overdose.”

“It's just so you won't accidentally take the wrong pills,” her mother guaranteed her. Emily didn't buy it.

“Of course,” Emily said. “I'd definitely end up taking the wrong pill. That's how crazy and confused I am.”

“Emily,” her mother sighed. “There is nothing wrong with you, but you are going through a lot right now.”

“That letter didn't seem to think so,” Emily argued. “Indicating that it's because I'm _gay_.”

Her mother blinked. “ _That's_ how you interpreted it? Emily, this is just what the doctor and I said. You see everything in such a black-and-white view that-”

“That I'm borderline? Bipolar?” Emily tried to think of other disorders, but came up short. Instead, she opened the car door. She felt her throat tighten, wanting to cry, but also not wanting to give her mother more reasons to label her unstable.

“ _Emily Fields_?” a loud voice said behind her.

Emily tensed. She looked behind her and saw a tall, blonde woman (although her dark eyebrows suggested her hair was originally brown), wearing a maxi dress in a wild pink and orange pattern. Her hair was slightly wavy, but not too much so- just like Alison's hair was, _used to be_ , it had been styled to perfection. It didn't help that the woman's eyes had the same color as Alison's, and the same confident, but inviting, smile.

“Sorry, who are you?” Emily asked.

“I'm CeCe,” she replied, with a big grin on her face, as if Emily was supposed to know exactly who she was. When Emily didn't react, CeCe's smile dropped. “President of Rosewood's LGBT Club,” CeCe added. Emily still didn't react. “Did Maya never mention me?”

Emily felt as if someone had stabbed her in the stomach. “She didn't,” she said. Then again, Emily didn't even know that there was an LGBT Club in Rosewood.

CeCe looked disappointed. “Well, I thought she was cool,” CeCe said. “I recognized you from the background picture on her phone. Everyone felt really down after she died. Meetings haven't been the same since.”

“I can imagine,” Emily mumbled. The thought of Maya having her photo on her phone screen made her feel conflicting emotions. Part happiness that Maya had loved her enough to want to look at her all the time, part sadness that she would never get to feel that love again...

CeCe zipped her purse open and fished up a small card, handing it over to Emily with the smile of a born saleswoman. “Membership only costs $10 a year,” she said. “We have meetings every Monday and Tuesday evening. Although, I must warn you...” Her lips twisted into a frown. “There aren't as many attending as it used to be.”

Emily looked at the card. It was a rainbow flag with white text and smiley faces, containing the phone number and address to Rosewood's LGBT club, plus their official website. “Was Maya that popular?” Emily asked, suddenly feeling incredulous. Maya had not been particularly extroverted, but when she managed to get to know you, she could be wonderfully impulsive and fun. The LGBT Club must have been a tight-knit group.

“Oh, no, honey,” CeCe said, shaking her head. “It's not about them missing Maya – although, I assure you, they all do – they are afraid of ending up like her.”

Emily felt as if someone was twisting the knife she had been imaginary-stabbed with. “What do you mean?”

“Well...” CeCe looked sullen. “Since there are no suspects, no motives... Most assume it was a hate crime.”

Emily paled. “Hate crime?” she repeated.

“What else could it be?” CeCe asked. “Maya was so _loved_. The only ones who could hate her would be the ones who hate love.”

Before Emily could answer, her mother opened the car door on the other side. “Emily, we're going home,” she interrupted.

“But mom-”

“It's nice that you got to meet another...” Her mother paused, as if she was not sure what the politically correct term for a lesbian was.

“I'm not gay,” CeCe said quickly. “I'm trans. So I'm under the LGBT umbrella, but not the same 'category' as Emily.” She winked at Emily, but Emily wasn't in the mood to act vivacious. What CeCe said was still reeling in her mind. _Hate crime_. Maya might have been killed because of her bisexuality.

“I'll make sure to bring Emily to one of your... club meetings,” Emily's mother said. “But today, we need to get home. It's been a long day.”

“No problem!” CeCe said, trying to sound polite. “It was very nice to meet you, Emily.”

“You too,” Emily said, although she wasn't sure if that was the case or not. She waved goodbye to CeCe and got into the car.

 

* * *

 

“You're here again?” Spencer asked Melissa.

Spencer wanted to get dinner to bring to the barn before she began to look through N.A.T. 2.0's videos. She hadn't expected her sister to be back in the house.

“It's nice to see you too Spencer,” Melissa replied, holding Taylor close to her chest. The baby was gurgling and laughing as Melissa swung around. “Want to say hi to Auntie Spencer?” she asked Taylor. Taylor, who obviously wasn't old enough to understand a single word, just made noises and waved her arms in the air. Melissa looked at Spencer with a wide smile. “Want to hold her?” she asked.

Spencer swallowed. It was difficult to form an emotional connection with this baby, due to what she had gone through with Ian. It felt as if the baby was half him, even though it didn't make any sense. _Nurture, not nature_ , as Melissa had said. Melissa handed Taylor over to her. Spencer held the baby in her arms tightly, afraid she would drop her. She looked down at Taylor's eyes. It was comforting that she looked nothing like Ian. She had Melissa's eyes, Melissa's hair color, Melissa's everything. Now that Spencer thought about it, _nothing_ from Ian's genes seemed to be present.

Almost as if he might not be the father.

Spencer gave Taylor back to Melissa. “She is beautiful,” she said. “Looks like a mini-Melissa.”

Melissa smiled. “She got lucky with the genes,” she said, tickling Taylor on the tummy. Taylor laughed.

”So, how come you're in town again?” Spencer asked.

Melissa simpered. “I'm visiting an old friend,” she replied.

“An old friend or a boyfriend?” Spencer questioned, crossing her arms.

Melissa paled for a second. Before Spencer could interrogate Melissa about the possibility of Garrett being the father, the sound of keys rustling in the door alerted her.

“Good afternoon girls!” Veronica Hastings yelled.

“Good afternoon,” Spencer and Melissa replied in unison. The color returned to Melissa's face. Her expression made it seem as if she had just dodged a bullet.

Veronica put on a smile. “How's my granddaughter?” she asked, walking up to Melissa and Taylor. Taylor made noises in response. Veronica laughed.

Spencer felt incredulous. “You're in a good mood,” she stated.

Her mother nodded. “I have a new case,” she said. “It's going to take a lot of work, but after I win it, I'm bound to get even more clients.”

“That confident?” Spencer asked.

“Don't be ridiculous Spence,” Melissa said. “Mom _always_ wins. How come you expect more clients though? Is it a famous case?”

“Famous is an understatement,” her mother answered. “I'm defending Garrett Reynolds in the trial for the murder of Alison DiLaurentis and Maya St. Germain.”

“ _What_?!” Spencer yelled.

“Spencer, you're scaring the baby,” Melissa whispered.

Spencer ignored her. “Garrett _killed_ my best friend, and my best friend's girlfriend!” Spencer shouted. “How can you _defend_ him?”

“He is innocent,” her mother assured them. “We have substantial proof of it, and we're bound to find even more.”

“There's substantial proof _against_ him too!” Spencer argued. “Why else would he have been locked up the whole summer?”

“Because the police are eager to solve the case and it leads to them jumping to conclusions and conducting sloppy investigations,” her mother replied matter-of-factly.

Spencer turned to Melissa. But Melissa didn't seem bothered at all. “Well then,” Melissa said.

“Is that all you have to say?” Spencer asked. “Did you push her to do this?”

“No!” Melissa said, looking horrified at the accusation. “Why would you even think that?”

“Because you and Garrett were looking awfully cozy-”

“That's enough, Spencer,” her mother said. “Don't you have studying to do?”

“I do,” Spencer said. “I just wanted to have dinner first.”

“Then go ahead,” her mother gestured towards the fridge. “There are leftovers-”

“I don't want to eat anymore,” Spencer hissed. “Because what you're doing is so revolting that it's making me _sick_.” Then she stormed out of the house, not bothering to shut the door behind her. Her heart pounded hard in her chest. Garrett had managed to talk her mother into defending him. _How_? _Why_?

 

* * *

 

“Hey,” Mike greeted Aria, not bothering to look away from the tablet he was playing games on. He was sitting comfortably in the couch, slouching back.

“Hi,” Aria replied, watching him skeptically. “Where have you been?”

“Um, in the house?” Mike shrugged, continuing to play with the tablet. “Where have _you_ been?”

“I went to visit Hanna,” Aria said. “And she told me that you've been visiting Mona Vanderwaal at Radley.”

There was silence. Mike stopped touching the tablet. Aria heard the noise of the car in his game crashing into something, and a loud, beeping _Game Over_ noise. Aria ripped the tablet from his hands.

“It's not what you think,” Mike said.

“What is it then?” Aria questioned, holding the tablet as far away from him as possible. “ _Tell me_ , Mike.”

Mike swallowed. “I was only there that one time,” he said.

“I don't believe you, Hanna said that you are there regularly,” Aria argued. “Why would you be visiting _Mona_ , Mike? She tortured _me_. She tortured _my friends_. _Hanna_ being one of them!”

Mike looked up at Aria. “I promise, I only went that one time,” he said. “I had to see for myself if it was true...”

“If what was true?” Aria asked. “That Mona is in the mental hospital? You didn't need to go there in person to find that out!”

“No,” Mike said. “I had to find out if Hanna was really visiting Mona.”

Aria blinked. “What?”

Mike nodded. “I heard at school that Hanna has been visiting Mona at Radley. Everyone thinks the whole A thing was made up, a ploy from the two of them to get attention.”

“Who is 'everyone'?” Aria questioned.

“My lacrosse teammates, Noel Kahn, Kate Randall...” Mike was counting each person on his fingers.

“Well, it's not true!” Aria said. “Kate has it out for Hanna, we know that from before. And besides, Hanna has only been there that one time.”

Mike shook his head. “Hanna has _definitely_ been there more than once. Mona told me all about it.”

“No she hasn't,” Aria said. “Hanna wouldn't lie to me.”

Mike shrugged. “Are you sure about that?” he asked. “Because Mona has no reason to lie to me.”

“Who started this rumor anyway?”

“I don't know,” Mike replied. “Can I have my tablet back?”

Reluctantly, Aria handed the tablet back to him. He didn't seem to want to give her any more answers- or perhaps he genuinely didn't know.

One thing was for sure: either Hanna or Mike was lying about how often they had gone to visit Mona.

Or both were lying, a prospect that was even more terrifying.

Before Aria's mind could conjure a thousand horror scenarios, she got distracted by the sound of the door opening.

“Hi dad!” Aria yelled, knowing who it was.

Her father stepped into the house. But instead of greeting her with his usual warm smile, he gave Aria and Mike a nervous look. “Oh, you're already home,” he said.

“Why wouldn't I be?” Aria asked.

Her father bit his lip. And then, before he could say anything else, a woman stepped in behind him. “It's okay, Byron,” the woman said. “I can go home if it's distressful.”

Aria recoiled at the sound of the voice. She knew that voice well. _Too_ well.

“No, Meredith, stay,” Aria's father said, holding Meredith's hand in his. “Ella is already dating a new man. They understand.”

“We _do_?” Aria interrupted, not bothering to hide her disgust.

Mike sighed. “Hi Ms. Stevens,” he said.

“Ms. Sorenson,” Meredith corrected him. “Although, outside of school, you can call me Meredith.”

Aria glared at Mike. “How are you okay with this?” she hissed, trying to keep her voice low enough to be a whisper. “First you become friends with Mona, now you're becoming friends with the woman who broke up our parents' marriage?”

“She didn't,” Mike replied. “You and Mr. Fitz did.”

Aria was stunned. It wasn't completely false- her parents had been arguing a lot over what to do about her and Ezra, and she was aware that it had played a part in their divorce. But her parents didn't have problems to begin with until Meredith came into the picture. How could Mike not see it?

Their father cleared his throat. “Meredith and I are going to order Chinese food,” he said. “We found a restaurant that serves vegan food, perfect for you, Meredith, and Aria...”

“Don't bother,” Aria replied. “I'm...” She paused. Where _could_ she go? Her mother was dating Jason, and she didn't want to deal with the awkwardness of all that. Her father was dating Meredith, and that opened a whole new can of worms. She could always go to Ezra's, but it would take a really good lie to cover up her staying at someone else's house several nights in a row, and Aria didn't want to add more fuel to A's fire.

Before Aria could finish the sentence, her phone buzzed. She felt horror creeping up on her. Somehow, she knew exactly who it was from. She picked the phone up and stared at the message.

> _Your choice, Aria. Either you come clean to your mum about hooking up with her inamorato, or you tell your dad who really vandalized his office._
> 
> _-A_

Aria paused. How did A even know about the vandalizing? It was years ago. So far everything A had taunted them with had been relatively recent. Sure, the new N.A.T. Club had some videos and images that appeared to have been from back when Alison was alive, but how would they have known what they had done to _her father's office_? Did they have cameras there as well? Had they been anticipating what Aria and Alison was going to do? How would A even be able to sneak a camera in and out of the office?

 _Unless_ , Aria realized. _Unless A was one of my father's students._

She glanced at Meredith, who smiled to her in response.

 

* * *

 

“Mona is no longer allowed to have visitors.”

“What?” Hanna stared at the nurse in disbelief. “There has to be a mistake, I was here less than a week ago-”

The nurse gave her a snide smile. “I hope it was an enjoyable visit, because she won't be allowed any more visitors for a while now.”

“Can I speak to Wren Kingston, please?” Hanna implored.

Before the nurse could respond, Hanna's wish was fulfilled, as Wren came walking down the corridor. Hanna waved for him to walk up to her. He smiled brightly and obliged. Hanna glowered at the nurse.

“Blimey, Mrs. Rivers!” Wren said with a wink. “How good to see you again!”

Hanna straightened her spine. _Blimey_ , she repeated in her head, trying to resist the urge to make a derisive comment. “Likewise,” she replied. She hadn't found the strength to drop the Rivers from her fake name yet. “I'm here to see Mona.”

Wren slumped his shoulders. “Mona isn't allowed visitors anymore,” he said.

“That's what I told her!” the nurse butted in.

Wren grabbed Hanna's arm and pulled her to the side. “Let's get out of earshot from that nurse,” he whispered. “She's a little dodgy.”

“A little _bitchy_ ,” Hanna countered, not caring if the nurse heard her or not. “Why isn't Mona allowed visitors?”

“There was an incident yesterday,” Wren explained. “I can't tell you the details, because of confidentiality-”

Hanna sighed. “Please, Wren, we've messed with the confidentiality before, what would be different this time?”

Wren crossed his arms. “Hanna, I care about you, and Mona as well, but I could lose my job. And if I lose my job, no one will be here to protect her, to ensure she _actually_ recovers. The other doctors and nurses- they don't care. They come in here to try to do as little work as possible, then they gather their paycheck and repeat.”

Hanna bowed her head. “I know,” she said.

Wren gave her a sympathetic look. “I know how you're feeling,” he said. “I had to fight for her rights too-”

“Your mentally ill relative?” Hanna asked.

Wren paused. “Yes, him,” he said. “Horrible treatment from doctors and nurses, no adaptation whatsoever. I had to fight every single day for his rights. We had situations where he couldn't find the bathroom and the staff locked him in the cupboard for fun, they woke him up by touching him under his shirt, and it was nearly impossible to prove because they could just say...”

“Say that he's crazy and made it up?”

Wren nodded. His eyes were glossy, as if he was fighting an urge to cry. “Every time my phone rang, I feared the worst,” he said. “I had to yell at the staff, the bosses, I wasn't popular back there for sure.”

Hanna raised an eyebrow. “That charming accent and pleasant smile doesn't win over everyone, I guess,” she said.

“Not when the owner of the accent is leaving complaints,” Wren said. “And the pleasant smile is more of an unpleasant scowl.”

Hanna swallowed. “Did he ever recover from his mental illness? Or did the doctors and nurses worsen it?” She thought about Mona and her conflicting feelings towards her. If there was even a slim chance Mona could recover, and the hospital was killing it... Hanna didn't know what to do.

“It was unfair treatment, but they didn't worsen his condition,” Wren said. “To be honest, my anger was primarily directed at the trauma that caused it to begin with... Had it not happened, we wouldn't have needed to rely on the goodwill of those phonies and liars, as he put it.”

There was a pause. Hanna didn't know who to blame for Mona's condition apart from herself, Alison, and the other girls. They had all played a part in bullying Mona when she was younger, leaving her out alone in the cold when she was older... “However,” Wren said. “I could try to get you something else...”

Hanna looked back up at him. “Really?”

Wren looked around them to ensure no one could hear, and then whispered: “I might be able to get you the list of visitors Mona had before her visitation privileges were revoked.”

Hanna put her hand over her chest. “Wren, that would mean so much to me. You have no idea.”

“I have a vague idea,” Wren replied. “I'll try to get it on Monday. Can I add my private phone number to your contacts?” he suggested.

“Of course,” Hanna said, handing over her phone to him.

Wren rambled on. “Because if I send this from my work phone it's a higher risk of being caught, and then...”

“No job, no protection or treatment for Mona,” Hanna concluded.

Wren smiled. He reached out a hand, and ran his fingers through Hanna's hair. Hanna felt as if there was a hole in her stomach. Caleb used to play with her hair like that. “You care so much about your friend, even though she hurt you,” he said. “It's a virtue to be so forgiving.”

Hanna looked away from him. _Had_ she forgiven Mona? She wasn't so sure. At the moment all she could focus on was the answers she wanted from her.

And how she missed Caleb.

Hanna took a step back. “I need to go,” she said. Wren gave her the phone back without questioning her decision. And then she walked out of the reception, not bothering to say goodbye properly.

 

* * *

 

 _Em, come visit me in the barn. I have a video that might jog your memory,_ Spencer texted to Emily. She pondered whether to send an emoji to try to lighten up the mood, but realized it was probably futile. Instead, she plugged the USB stick into the computer and copied every single file onto both her hard drives, and began to search for Caleb in her contacts list. She was glad she had kept his number from the time when they got files from A's phone and Hanna had tried to stop them from looking through them. She found his number under her classmate Brenda's, and clicked _call_.

“Hey.” He picked up faster than she anticipated.

“Hi, it's Spencer!” Spencer said.

“I know, I kept your number,” Caleb replied. He sounded a little distant, but Spencer had no time to chat about feelings.

“Hanna found a USB-stick full of videos and images that A have of us,” Spencer explained. “I have it with me right now, and I need to know how to make safe copies to ensure A doesn't erase them.”

“Send them to me,” Caleb said, spelling out his e-mail address for Spencer.

“It'll probably take all day, there are _so_ many videos,” Spencer complained.

“We need to start somewhere,” Caleb pointed out. “The more emails that you send these videos to, the harder it will be for A to remove them.”

“Could I upload them somewhere for you to download?” Spencer asked.

“Too risky,” Caleb responded. ”Unless you're willing to take the risk of the videos getting out.”

Spencer clicked to transfer the files, and then started pacing back and forth in the barn. “There's a video from That Night,” she explained to Caleb. “But there is also a ton of other images and videos, some A claims to be of Alison...”

“Alison?” Caleb's skepticism shone through his voice. “Before she died?”

“I would assume so,” Spencer said. “But...” She paused. _But Hanna and Emily seem to believe that she might be alive_ , she had wanted to say. Although, she realized, it might be inappropriate for her to share her frustration with her friends to the _boyfriend_ of one of said friends. She cleared her throat. “Hanna says she was only at Radley once, do you think that's possible given the texts you read?”

Caleb let out a long, drawn-out sigh. “I don't know,” he said.

Spencer took a look at her computer screen. It was going to take at least 30 minutes to transfer all the files. How was she even supposed to find the _time_ to watch all of these videos and analyze them thoroughly? “Do you think you could ask her?” Spencer suggested. “She didn't seem willing to talk today.”

“I can try, but it won't be easy,” Caleb said.

“Why? Is she still angry?”

“Still angry? She _broke up_ with me.”

Spencer sat up straight in her chair as if someone had just slapped her in the face. “ _What?_ ”

“That's what I said,” Caleb replied.

Spencer crinkled her nose. Caleb and Hanna had always been the power couple. Hanna's life had become much better after they started dating, Caleb's life had become much better after they started dating. The problems they had usually aroused from outside drama, such as the time when Hanna tried to destroy the N.A.T. videos to prevent Caleb from continuing to work on them. The reminder of _that_ situation was what made Spencer take the videos from Hanna as fast as she could.

There was a knock on the door. “I have to go, Emily's here,” Spencer said. “I'll email the videos to you later.” She heard Caleb say goodbye, but hung up instead of responding. Talking to him while he and Hanna weren't together felt wrong... But who else was she supposed to sleuth with? She loved Toby too much to involve him in this mess.

Spencer opened the door, finding Emily.

“Hi, Em, let's go to my room!” Spencer said, not wanting to freak her out with her own A-inspired lair.

Emily shrugged. She had a slouchy posture, very unlike herself, and carried a big gym bag with her. “Why not in the barn?” Emily asked.

“No internet connection,” Spencer lied. She held up a hand to stop Emily from entering, and then ran into the kitchen to pick up her laptop.

 

* * *

 

”I thought it was a dream,” Emily whispered.

“What do you mean?” Spencer questioned, clicking to pause the video.

“I remember this, partially,” Emily explained, pointing at 'Alison' on the screen. “It was a bit different. First I saw Maya, then I saw Alison, and she twirled around and suddenly had a goatskin fur coat...”

“ _Goatskin_ _fur_ _coat_?” Spencer repeated, raising an eyebrow higher and higher with each word.

“Yes, she told me 'goatskin's in',” Emily recited. “All while smirking, as if it was a funny inside joke.”

Spencer narrowed her eyes. “Did you take any drugs That Night?”

“No!” Emily said, seemingly offended by the suggestion.

“Then what if A drugged you?” Spencer speculated. “What if A put something in your drink to make you easier to kidnap?”

“Not possible,” Emily protested. “I only drank from what you served...” She paused. “And my own flask,” she added.

“Have you drunk from it since?” Spencer asked.

“No.”

“Make sure you don't, because we need to check what's in it,” Spencer said.

Emily sighed. Reluctantly, she put her gym bag down and opened it up. “I haven't drunk from it, but I also didn't put it away,” she admitted, handing it over to Spencer. Spencer took it, and then gave Emily a look. Emily looked away.

“Are you feeling better?” Spencer asked.

Emily crossed her arms, still not meeting Spencer's eyes. “Perfect,” she said. “Crazy Emily is getting her little pills, so it's all good now.”

“Em,” Spencer said, putting both hands on each side of Emily's shoulders, and looking her in the eye. “Nobody thinks you're crazy.”

Emily made eye contact. Her eyes were glossy, as if she was holding back tears, and her pained facial expression told more of a story than her words ever could have. “They do,” Emily whispered. “They all hate us.”

Spencer tilted her head slightly. “Who's _us_?”

Emily closed her eyes, allowing the tears to fall. “I think...” She opened up her eyes again, the tears slowly making their way down her cheeks. “I think N.A.T. killed Maya.”

Spencer pondered the theory. It made sense, to some extent. The new N.A.T. Club must be connected to Garrett somehow. Maybe he had not committed the actual murder after all, and her mother was actually on to something... But _why_ had Emily drawn that conclusion? “What makes you say that?” she asked.

“They implied in the letter that I'm mentally ill because I'm gay,” Emily said, her voice shaking as she was trying not to let the tears interrupt her. “What if they hate gay people? What if that's why Maya...” Her voice balked, and instead, she hid her face in her hands, sobbing.

Spencer stood still, feeling helpless. She wanted to console Emily, but she didn't know what to say. Instead, she put her arm over Emily's shoulders, and patted her on the arm gently. “Do you... Have anyone to talk to?” Spencer asked carefully.

Emily tensed. “Like Dr. Sullivan?”

“No, no, I meant, another gay girl,” Spencer cleared up. “Someone who understands the fear you're going through.”

Emily turned silent for a few seconds. “No, but I think I know where to find one.”

 

* * *

 

Aria sighed in relief. She had been up writing all night, and finally reached the part where Mona hit Hanna with the car. Hanna had allowed that detail to slip when talking to the police about A's crimes, but Aria didn't feel a need to censor it. At least not for now. She yawned and stared at the computer clock. 4 in the morning. Setting her day rhythm straight during the weekend was going to be a struggle.

She opened up her email and typed in Ezra's email address, adding her book document file as an attachment.

> _Thank you for supporting me. You're right, writing has always been my dream, and finally getting to tell my story instead of reading the media's interpretation of it is such a relief... I've finished about a third of the book, tell me what you think!_
> 
> _Love,_
> 
> _Aria_

She pressed _send_ and closed her laptop, jumping into bed without bothering to wash off her make-up or change to pajamas. _I'm going to be an author_ , a giddy part of her said. Aria smiled and closed her eyes. A may have taken a lot from her, but A couldn't take this...

“Aria,” a solemn voice said.

Aria flinched. Her head was aching, and she was feeling cold. She reached for the blanket blindly, too tired to open her eyes, and pulled the blanket over herself.

“Aria Montgomery,” the voice repeated.

“I'm sleeping dad,” Aria mumbled, digging her face into her pillow. She struggled to realize why she was feeling so tired, but then recalled how late she had gone to bed. Writing sure made time fly.

Her thoughts stopped when her father grabbed her arm. Aria blinked twice, opening her eyes slightly. The way he grabbed her was discontenting. She turned her eyes to him to glower, but once everything in front of her came into detail, she realized this was not the usual ' _good morning, wake up_ '-routine.

Byron stood in front of her, one arm holding onto hers, one holding his phone. His lips were pressed tightly together, as if he was trying to hold back what he wanted to say. Aria looked into his eyes and began to feel worried. He was _furious_. She looked behind him and saw Meredith standing in the doorway, arms crossed, but eyes full of tears.

Aria glanced anxiously from Meredith to her father. “What is going on?” she asked, stunned by the situation.

“You tell me,” her father said stringently, handing the phone over to her. Aria looked at the screen. A long, long text message with images attached.

> _Hello Mr. Montgomery,_
> 
> _It has come to my attention that your daughter, Aria, vandalized your office and framed your lover for it. This manipulative behaviour leaves me greatly concerned for her mental health, and I think you should consider getting her in contact with a professional to teach her how to cope with these toxic emotions._
> 
> _-NAT_

Attached were the screen-captured images from the group conversation she had with the other girls. It showed her calling Meredith names, followed by her full confession of what she and Alison had done. For some reason, Hanna's encouragement of the name-calling had been edited out. Perhaps A had found it irrelevant.

Aria looked back up at her father and Meredith. Meredith looked crushed, and Aria immediately felt _guilty_ , as if the realization of what she and Alison had really done hadn't sunk in until now.

Suddenly, a thought hit her. If Meredith was A, she must have stolen Aria's phone and taken pictures of the conversation from there. She checked the image. But the messages didn't show as if the user had written them. They had been taken by someone who was _in the conversation_.

Her father raised his voice, reminding Aria of his presence. “Apologize to Meredith,” he commanded.

Aria looked down at the floor. “I'm sorry, Meredith,” she said, trying to sound earnest. Byron didn't seem to believe her. “Dad, I don't know what to say,” Aria continued. “It was a long time ago, I was immature, Alison was egging me on...”

Her father almost looked disgusted by her. “Are you shifting the blame to your dead friend? Who can't defend herself?”

“Dad, I-”

Her father raised his hand. “Stop,” he said. “You're grounded. I want no more of _this_ ,” he pointed at the phone screen. “And no more contact with your former English teacher, no matter what your mother says about it.”

“What?” Aria felt as if her heart was breaking.

“You heard me,” her father said.

Aria glared at him. “You were _her_ teacher too!” she yelled, pointing at Meredith.

Her father looked back at her. Aria gulped, realizing it might be a little too close to the time where she borderline blackmailed her parents into not sending her to boarding school. “I'm sorry,” she added, but her father didn't seem to hear her. Instead, he left her room, taking Meredith's hand into his as he left. His phone, with N.A.T.'s text message open, stayed in Aria's hand.

Aria narrowed her eyes and looked at the message closer. A had crossed out the names of the members in the group- all except Aria's. Hanna's comments had been removed, but Spencer's remained. Aria felt her heart beating hard in her chest. What did it mean? Why were Spencer's comments deemed important but not Hanna's? She shook her head. Whatever the reason, she didn't want to spend the weekend at her father's, going through awkward moments with Meredith.

The other option was going to her mother's and... Going through awkward moments with Jason.

Aria took a deep breath, trying to breathe steadily. She wanted to run away to Ezra's, but if her father asked where she was going, or where she had gone...

Her own phone made a noise. Aria picked it up.

> _I warned you._
> 
> _-A_

 

* * *

 

 

**Monday**

 

“Here are your morning pills, Emily,” her mother said, handing them over to her together with a glass of water.

Emily felt drowsy. She was up and about, as the doctor promised her she would be, but emotionally she was flatlining. Not that it mattered. As long as she was getting out of bed and doing what she was supposed to, her mother seemed to deem the treatment a great success.

But Emily was obedient.

She took the pills and swallowed them with the water in one go. This was her first day of school this semester, since she had skipped the entire previous week. The only difference between pre-medication Emily and on-medication Emily was that the former was filled with dread at the thought, and the latter felt absolutely nothing at the thought. Going back to swimming, spending time with her friends, all activities she used to value felt about as exciting as sitting in her room, inspecting the same wallpaper she saw every day.

“I made you breakfast,” her mother said. “Cold overnight oats. I used vanilla yoghurt, since I know it's your favorite.”

“Great,” Emily said, although she didn't feel particularly hungry. She knew her mother well enough to know she would be feeding her every recipe she found from athlete magazines no matter what Emily's mood was. It was in these moments she wished she had siblings. Being the sole child meant all the attention and pressure was on her.

“I e-mailed your teachers and they are willing to give you some extra time on the schoolwork,” Pam continued. “Given recent events, they agreed it was needed...”

It wasn't even that recent. An entire summer had passed. But Emily didn't have the energy to complain. Instead, she chose to placate her mother. They walked down the stairs together, her mother glancing at her anxiously in between steps, as if she expected Emily to lose control and fall down without her babysitting.

Emily got her phone out of her pocket and checked the group chat she had with the other girls. Aria had been ranting over the weekend about how she couldn't leave her room without risking having to face Meredith, as she and her father were apparently getting close to each other again. Hanna had been acting grumpy, mentioning something about struggling to stick to her diet lately. And of course, there was Spencer, who was obsessed with the new N.A.T. videos, and had apparently spent all weekend searching through them for clues. Emily sighed and opened up the search engine instead, searching for a map that would guide her to Rosewood's LGBT center. Their website came up. Emily pressed it, and was greeted with a rainbow-colored headline.

> _**SUPPORT** , **FRIENDSHIP** , AND _ _**LOVE** _ _FOR **LGBTQI+** PEOPLE IN **ROSEWOOD**!_

Emily sat down in the chair as her mother brought her the oatmeal and a spoon. “Thank you,” she said, keeping her eyes on the phone screen. She wasn't excited for school, but the LGBT club on the other hand...

 

* * *

 

 Spencer wasn't sure how to break the news to the girls.

She had been keeping it to herself all morning, and even now, when they sat down together at the lunch table, the timing seemed bad.

Emily was there, which was progress, but she still had an empty look in her eyes as she dug through a quinoa chicken salad, as if she expected to find something better somewhere in her lunch box. Hanna was lackadaisical to the point where she had completely neglected bringing her own lunch, but her make-up was, as per usual, on point. Aria looked tense, which was, Spencer had to admit, _cute_ when combined with her bright pink hairband and cartoon kitty earrings. Aria had her own style for sure. The skull-patterned skirt added to the unfit combination.

Spencer took a deep breath. “Guys,” she said. “I don't think Jenna is A.”

Part of the chicken Emily was chewing dropped back into her lunch box. “I _remember_ seeing her in that car, Spencer,” she said, not bothering to hide her annoyance.

“I know, I believe you,” Spencer reassured her. “But there are videos of Jenna in there, and some of them...” Spencer felt heat rise to her face. “Let's just say, there had to be a cameraman.”

“Why?” Hanna asked, oblivious to Spencer's embarrassment.

Spencer shifted in the cafeteria chair uncomfortably. “The things I saw were not child-friendly,” she said.

She looked back up at her friends. Aria's face was a mix of horror and disgust. Emily seemed to be struggling to decide what reaction to have. Hanna looked confused for a few more seconds before finally realizing what Spencer had meant.

“But!” Spencer said, zipping her handbag open to bring out an image she had printed out. “We can confirm-”

Aria put her hand over her own eyes. “Is she wearing clothes?” she asked.

“Of course!” Spencer said, shocked. “I'm not a pervert Aria, Jesus.”

“Yeah, I think you need him,” Aria replied. She grabbed the image from Spencer's hands and looked. Her facial expression swapped back to disgust. “So it's true. Bitch can see.”

“ _What_?!” Hanna seemed to have woken up. She snatched the image from Aria and inspected it. The image had been taken from one of the N.A.T. videos, where Spencer had seen Jenna writing in English, and she had been giggling and saying that it was a relief not to use braille anymore.

“So I was right,” Emily said. “The surgery worked, but she keeps lying to everyone about it.”

There was a noise in the back of the cafeteria. They turned around. Jenna had bumped into someone again. Her walking stick was on the ground, and she moved around clumsily. Hanna clenched her fist.

“Guys!” Spencer said, although her eyes stayed on Hanna. “Don't do anything-”

“Anything like what? Standing up for ourselves?” Hanna said. “I'm sick of A and A's games, and if we don't take a stand now, when will we?”

Spencer held both her hands up and motioned them up and down slowly, like waves. “Hanna, I just explained to you that Jenna could be involved, but she is probably not A.”

“So what?! She probably knows who is!” Hanna stood up, earning her a lot of stares from the people around in the cafeteria. Spencer grabbed her arm.

“ _Hanna_!” Spencer hissed. “We can _use_ this. Don't do anything impulsive.”

Hanna twisted her arm out of Spencer's grip and opened her mouth to reply, but suddenly, her eyes caught something else. Spencer followed Hanna's stare.

Kate and Mike had walked up to Jenna, and helped each other pull her up. Jenna smiled in gratitude. Kate moved some hair out of her face and laughed- not menacingly, but as if Jenna had just said something funny. Mike's hand traveled from Jenna's arm to Kate's, and within seconds, his hand was in hers.

“When did _that_ happen?” Hanna asked, sounding confused.

Spencer shrugged and turned to look at Aria to see her take on the situation, but Aria didn't seem too interested.

“It makes sense,” Aria said. “He used to be into Hanna, Kate looks a little like her...” Hanna shot Aria a glare. “Except you're way prettier!” Aria added.

Suddenly, Hanna snapped her fingers. “Kate was all over me the first day of school,” she said. “Remember, Spence? She was touching my pockets and being really invasive.”

“It was creepy,” Spencer agreed, though she wasn't sure what Hanna was getting at.

“Kate must have put that USB-stick in my pocket,” Hanna said. “She is connected to Mike- and Mike was visiting Mona at Radley regularly...”

Spencer blinked. “ _Mike_ was visiting Mona?” She wanted to slam Hanna down for her hypocrisy, but Hanna continued:

“Now we're seeing Mike and Kate help Jenna out. Isn't that a little suspicious?”

Aria snorted. “What do you mean by _suspicious_? Are you suggesting Mike and Kate are A?”

Hanna started gesturing wildly, her eyes wide open. “Don't you see, Aria? They are the N.A.T. Club! It makes sense!”

“It does _not_!” Aria argued. “I get _Kate'_ s motive, but why would my little brother be torturing us?”

“Because he is angry that I didn't reciprocate his feelings!” Hanna stated, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Spencer's brow furrowed. She felt as if she had missed something. “' _Reciprocate his feelings_ '?” she repeated. “And weren't _you_ at Radley, Hanna?”

“Only once!” Hanna responded. “But Mike has been there many times, I _know_ it!”

“How?” Spencer questioned, crossing her arms.

“Mona's doctor told me!” Hanna replied, raising her voice to the point where she was almost yelling.

“Hold up,” Emily said. “I'm lost. Why were Hanna and Mike at Radley?”

Hanna slammed her fist in the table. All three of the girls jumped. “You just don't _get_ it!” Hanna yelled.

The entire cafeteria went silent. Spencer looked back at Mike, Kate, and Jenna. They were all three seated at the same table now, and all of them were looking right at Hanna. Jenna's glasses hid the look on most of her face, but Spencer was willing to bet that she had a pleased twinkle in her eye.

Hanna swung her handbag over her shoulder and walked out of the cafeteria. A few whispers could be heard in the background. _Crazy_ , Spencer was sure she heard someone say. Some boys laughed in the background.

Spencer sighed. “A is probably laughing along with them,” she said.

Aria was picking at a falafel in her lunchbox with a fork. “Hey,” she said. “Do you think A could be someone... Close to us?”

“What do you mean?” Spencer asked.

“It's just been on my mind lately,” Aria said. “Maybe... Maybe A has inside info.”

Spencer wanted to point out that Aria's brother would qualify for that, but chose not to. Aria looked shaken enough by the argument as it was.

Emily looked distressed. “What is  _wrong_  with all of you?” she asked. “You make me want to check in at Radley too.” Then she stood up as well, grabbed her gym bag, and walked away from Spencer and Aria.

 

* * *

 

As she walked down the corridor, her phone buzzed. Hanna took it out of her pocket. It was from Wren.

_Got you the visitor list._

Hanna opened the text. Attached was a picture of a long list of names. Some of the handwriting looked better than the other. Hanna zoomed in on the image.

_Leona Vanderwaal_

_CeCe Drake_

_Lucas Gottesman_

Hanna narrowed her eyes to make sure she was reading the handwriting correctly. _Lucas?_ Lucas, who had changed to homeschooling? Why would he be visiting Mona?

She continued to scroll down.

_Mike Montgomery_

_Kate Randall_

Hanna almost dropped her phone into the ground. _Kate Randall_. She wanted to scream. Or grab Kate's hair and yank her backwards. Or both. She clutched the phone in her hands.

It was time to do some sleuthing of her own.

 

* * *

 

Something was deeply wrong with the weather.

The wind almost sent Aria flying as she was trying to run through town. She would usually have taken her car to visit Ezra, but she was grounded, and Byron knew it. This way she could excuse herself with _I was studying at Spencer's,_ and there wouldn't be a risk of him driving there to check if her car was in the parking lot.

All of a sudden, Aria's eyes caught Jason, walking right towards her. She gulped and walked past him, hoping he hadn't seen her.

“Aria!” his voice called behind her.

Aria sighed. _Just my luck_ , she thought. She turned around to face Jason. He was smiling, which was unusual.

“Hi Jason,” Aria said, trying to keep her tone polite. “How are you?”

“Feeling good, I just got back from Ella's,” Jason apprised. “We missed you this week,” he added.

“Sure you did,” Aria replied sarcastically. She swung her bag over her shoulder, prepared to keep walking, but Jason wasn't ready to end the conversation.

“Yes, we did,” Jason said. “You're Ella's daughter, and-”

“And you're young enough to be her son!” Aria interrupted, the words flying from her mouth before she could stop them.

Jason seemed nonplussed. “ _That's_ what this is about? Age difference?”

Aria sighed. “Jason, it's not the age difference...”

“Then what is it?”

Aria walked up to him. She took a quick look around them to ensure everyone around were strangers. “You _KISSED_ me, remember?” she whispered, trying to keep her voice as low as she could.

“I'm sorry,” Jason said, sounding befuddled.

“' _Sorry'_?” Aria snorted. “Some things can't be undone, Jason. We can't go from love to a father-daughter relationship.”

“I thought you had a boyfriend.”

Aria blinked, confused by the statement. “I do!”

“Then why did you describe what we had as love?” Jason questioned.

Aria was dumbfounded. She wanted to hiss at him, inform him that she had not meant it that way, but the words were escaping from her. What _had_ she meant? Her brief attraction to him and the conversations they had, just the two of them... How should it be defined?

Jason didn't bother waiting for her reply. He gave her a look that seemed to peer right into her soul, reminiscent of Alison's way of reading her like a book, and then walked away, leaving her standing alone in the middle of the street. Her heart pounded hard in her chest.

Before she could think more about it, her phone rang. It was Ezra. She felt cold inside, and it was not only due to the weather.

Ezra wanted to see her. Why wasn't she excited? Why was she worrying about Jason? _Her mother's boyfriend?_ So much for a new father figure.

Aria pressed to answer. “Hi Ezra,” she said, trying to sound affectionate.

“A _aa_ ria _a_ ,” Ezra said, each A lingering. “You forgot something.”

“Forgot what?”

“You sent me the email, but you didn't attach the book itself,” Ezra answered. “Something distracting you?”

Aria smacked herself in the forehead. “Just schoolwork,” she lied. “I'll run home and send it again before I come over.”

“Great,” Ezra replied. “I love you.”

“Love you too,” Aria said, hanging up the call.

 

* * *

 

”Hello?”

The wind slammed the door shut behind Spencer. For once, Melissa wasn't there. Spencer sighed. Her opportunity to grill Melissa had been missed. She looked at the pile of mail on the kitchen counter. Someone was home for sure. Maybe it's dad and he is in the bathroom, Spencer thought.

Initially, she thought about leaving the house and going to the barn to continue her A investigations, but then she glanced back at the mail. All those little white envelopes spread across the counter, as if it had been searched through. Incredulous, Spencer walked up to it. One envelope had been placed in the middle, as if it had wanted to be singled out.

It was from Spencer's grandfather.

Her pointing finger crawled under the flap sealing the letter. She tried to open it carefully without ripping it, but it wasn't possible.

The letter read:

> _Dear Veronica,_
> 
> _I hope Spencer is not upset about the revelations in your mother's will. She is welcome to join us at the funeral if she so desires._
> 
> _Regards_

Spencer stared, re-reading the letter again to ensure she had seen it correctly. Her grandmother was dead and no one had told her? And the will had some sort of revelation she had not been informed of?

Before Spencer could think more, another door in the house slammed. Spencer jumped. She placed the letter into her handbag, but kept the envelope, crumpling it in her hand as if it were a stress ball. “Dad?!” she called out. “Mom?!”

There was no reply. Spencer's heart pounded hard in her chest. “Melissa?!” she yelled. Yet again, no one called back. A must have gotten here first. A must have wanted Spencer to find out what her parents were hiding from her. Spencer felt herself starting to hyperventilate, and ran towards the front door. She needed to get out, no matter how bad the weather was. She had to jump and push to shove the door open so the wind wouldn't shut it back again.

Spencer took her phone out of her pocket. She needed Toby. She needed him more than ever. She pressed the call button.

He picked up almost immediately. “Toby,” she panted, the wind not helping her calm down in the slightest. “I need your help.”

“Spencer,” he said on the other side of the line. The wind hit Spencer with force, and she stumbled slightly in her steps. “I've barely heard from you the past week.”

“I know, I'm sorry, there's been a lot going on with my family,” Spencer replied. It wasn't a lie, but not the full truth either. “Something suspicious is going on, and I need your help.”

Toby sighed. “All right, but I want you to explain everything to me,” he said.

Spencer paused. “My parents' lakehouse,” she said. “Run away with me there. Just the two of us, tonight.”

There was a brief pause. “I'm on my way,” Toby said.

 

* * *

 

“I'm home!” Aria yelled.

She heard her brother laughing upstairs. Luckily, her father wasn't home yet. She sighed in relief and ran upstairs. If she was fast enough, she could send Ezra the book before her father got home and avoid questioning over why she wasn't at Spencer's already. She nearly tripped on the steps in stress.

She clicked to start the computer and tapped her desk impatiently with her fingers, preparing for the inevitable argument that would ensue if her father got home early. _You're grounded_ , he would say. _I thought it didn't apply for studying with Spencer_ , Aria would argue.

“You're home?”

Aria shook her head to get back to the present. Her brother stood in her doorway, with Kate Randall, whose hand was traveling up and down his arm.

“I just need to download some questions we had for homework,” Aria said, not bothering to come up with a better explanation.

Mike shrugged. Kate's hand left his arm and instead she tip-toed away somewhere.

“What is _she_ doing here?” Aria whispered, hoping Kate wasn't in range to hear her.

Mike looked just as confused as her. “Apparently all the lacrosse boys are cool enough for the popular girls now,” he said.

“She is using you,” Aria warned. “100%. Don't you remember what she did to Hanna?”

Mike sighed. “I do, but I have to allow her the benefit of doubt...”

“No you don't!” Aria struggled to keep the volume of her voice low. “What she did was so manipulative Mike, how could you even...?”

“I did some horrible things too,” Mike argued. “I broke into people's homes. I pushed mom. And you bullied people with Alison, you dated your English teacher, and you hid dad's affair for years! What makes Kate so much worse than the rest of us?”

Aria shook her head. “Just listen to me, she is bad news,” she concluded. Then she looked back at her computer and opened her documents.

The book wasn't there.

Aria tensed. Perhaps she had saved it somewhere else by accident? She clicked on her artwork folder. Nothing. She clicked on her photography folder. Nothing. She even went into her book analysis folder and ebook folder. Absolutely nothing.

Aria clicked to open her email. She had emailed the book to herself before, surely it had to be saved. But when she opened her email, it was empty.

Every single email she had ever sent or received was erased.

As if someone had read her mind, a notification popped up. _You have one new mail_.

Aria stared at the screen in disbelief.

> _Snitches get stitches._
> 
> _-A_

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed reading it. English is not my first language, so please do give me feedback on typos and grammar errors if you spotted those.


End file.
